Bottle preform sterilization apparatus and method

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a bottle preform sterilization apparatus and method. The bottle preform sterilization apparatus comprises a conveying component and a sterilization component, and further comprises a heating component. The conveying component comprises a first conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the heating component, and a second conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the sterilization component. The conveying path of the first conveying assembly is connected to the conveying path of the second conveying assembly in a front-to-back manner. The heating component comprises an upper heating component and a lower heating component. According to the present application, by means of disposing the heating component upstream of the sterilization component, when the conveying component conveys a bottle preform, the bottle preform firstly passes through the heating component where the inside and the outside of the bottle preform are heated, and then passes through the sterilization component where gasified hydrogen peroxide is sprayed onto the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle preform, so that the gasified hydrogen peroxide attached to the surfaces of the bottle preform is not prone to condensation. Moreover, when the bottle preform at a relatively high temperature is continuously conveyed to a heating furnace for heating, the gasified hydrogen peroxide on the surfaces of the bottle preform rapidly reaches an activation temperature, thereby killing bacteria on the surfaces of the bottle preform and achieving a better sterilization effect.

Description

A bottle blank sterilization device and method

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410448174.8 filed on April 15, 2024, and entitled “A bottle blank sterilization device and method”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of filling equipment, in particular to a bottle blank sterilization device and method. BACKGROUND

[0004] Bottle blank sterilization technology is a key technology in aseptic filling equipment. When conveying bottle blanks, the bottle blanks move forward on an arc-shaped conveying path, and a sterilization component is arranged on the arc-shaped conveying path. The interior of the sterilization component will form a gasified sterilization medium, and the commonly used sterilization medium is hydrogen peroxide. After the bottle blank passes through the sterilization component, the gasified hydrogen peroxide adheres to the surface of the bottle blank. Only when the bottle blank is continuously conveyed to a heating furnace and heated to a certain temperature, the gasified hydrogen peroxide adhering to the surface of the bottle blank will be heated into an activated state. The gasified hydrogen peroxide in the activated state has the best sterilization ability to kill the bacteria on the surface of the bottle blank. That is, the bottle blank has two stages when passing through the heating furnace. The first stage is the heating stage of the bottle blank, and the gasified hydrogen peroxide has not been activated at this stage. The second stage is the sterilization stage of the bottle blank, and the gasified hydrogen peroxide is activated at this stage to sterilize the bottle blank.

[0005] In the related art, the bottle blank is in a normal temperature state before passing through the sterilization component, and the bottle blank in the normal temperature state causes the gasified hydrogen peroxide adhering to the surface of the bottle blank to easily condense. The temperature of the hydrogen peroxide adhering to the surface of the bottle blank in the normal temperature state is far below the activation temperature. Therefore, when the bottle blank passes through the heating furnace, a long time of heating is required to activate the gasified hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank, i.e., the heating stage of the bottle blank lasts too long. Since the bottle blank moves at a high speed on the conveying path, the time for passing through the heating furnace is short. If the heating stage of the bottle blank lasts too long, the sterilization stage of the bottle blank will be shortened, and thus the overall sterilization time of the bottle blank will be too short, which cannot achieve complete and comprehensive sterilization of the bottle blank.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a bottle blank sterilization device to solve the problem of short sterilization time of gasified hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank.

[0008] To solve the above technical problems, the application adopts the following technical scheme: a bottle blank sterilization device, comprising a conveying component configured to convey bottle blanks and a sterilization component configured to spray gasified hydrogen peroxide inside and outside the bottle blanks, further comprising a heating component, the conveying component comprising a first conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the heating component and a second conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the sterilization component, the conveying path of the first conveying assembly and the conveying path of the second conveying assembly are connected in front and back, the heating component comprises an upper heating component outputting sterile hot air inside the bottle blanks and a lower heating component outputting sterile hot air outside the bottle blanks.

[0009] In the above-mentioned bottle blank sterilization device, the upper heating component comprises an upper air chamber with an upper heating cavity and an upper spraying unit with a plurality of upper spraying ports, the upper spraying unit is arranged on the upper air chamber so that the upper spraying ports are located in the upper heating cavity.

[0010] In the above-mentioned bottle blank sterilization device, the lower heating component comprises a lower air chamber with a lower heating cavity and a lower spraying unit with a plurality of lower spraying ports, the lower spraying unit is arranged on the lower air chamber so that the lower spraying ports are located in the lower heating cavity.

[0011] In the above-mentioned bottle blank sterilization device, the upper spraying ports are vertically downward, the lower spraying ports are vertically upward, and the lower spraying ports are staggered with the upper spraying ports.

[0012] In the above-mentioned bottle blank sterilization device, the number of lower spraying ports is less than the number of upper spraying ports.

[0013] In the above-mentioned bottle blank sterilization device, the first conveying assembly comprises a first conveying turntable, the second conveying assembly comprises a second conveying turntable, and the conveying paths of the first conveying turntable and the second conveying turntable are both arc-shaped and connected in front and back.

[0014] The application has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] A bottle blank sterilization device, comprising a conveying component configured to convey bottle blanks and a sterilization component configured to spray gasified hydrogen peroxide inside and outside the bottle blanks, further comprising a heating component, the conveying component comprising a first conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the heating component and a second conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the sterilization component, the conveying path of the first conveying assembly and the conveying path of the second conveying assembly are connected in front and back, the heating component comprises an upper heating component outputting sterile hot air inside the bottle blanks and a lower heating component outputting sterile hot air outside the bottle blanks. The technical scheme has the following technical effects:

[0016] The application sets a heating component on the conveying path of the conveying component, and sets the heating component upstream of the sterilization component. When the conveying component conveys the bottle blank, the bottle blank first passes through the heating component to heat the inside and outside of the bottle blank. The upper heating component and the lower heating component uniformly heat the inside and outside of the bottle blank to a certain temperature. Then the bottle blank passes through the sterilization component. The sterilization component sprays vaporized hydrogen peroxide onto the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank. Because the bottle blank has been uniformly heated to a high temperature by the sterile hot air sprayed by the upper heating component and the lower heating component before the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed onto the bottle blank, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide attached to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank is not easy to condense. This avoids the phenomenon that only part of the area of the bottle blank surface is attached with the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured to kill bacteria due to the condensation and flow of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the bottle blank surface. In addition, when the bottle blank with a high temperature is continuously conveyed to the heating furnace for heating, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank will quickly reach the activation temperature to enter the activation state to kill the bacteria on the surface of the bottle blank. That is, compared with the bottle blank with a low temperature which does not pass through the heating component for preheating, the hot bottle blank which has passed through the heating component for preheating spends less time to rise to the activation temperature required by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the hot bottle blank has a longer sterilization time during the conveying process in the heating furnace, and the sterilization effect on the bottle blank is better.

[0017] The upper heating component includes an upper air chamber with an upper heating cavity and an upper spraying unit with a plurality of upper spraying ports. The upper spraying unit is arranged in the upper air chamber so that the upper spraying ports are located in the upper heating cavity. By arranging the upper heating component in the structure of the upper air chamber and the upper spraying unit, the upper spraying ports can not only spray sterile hot air into the bottle blank to heat the inner surface of the bottle blank, but also heat the outer surface of the bottle blank which protrudes into the upper heating cavity from the top of the bottle blank. The heating effect on the bottle blank is good.

[0018] The lower heating component includes a lower air chamber with a lower heating cavity and a lower spraying unit with a plurality of lower spraying ports. The lower spraying unit is arranged in the lower air chamber so that the lower spraying ports are located in the lower heating cavity. The sterile hot air sprayed by the lower spraying ports fills the lower heating cavity, which can heat the outer surface of the bottle blank which protrudes into the lower heating cavity. The bottle blank is heated more uniformly as a whole.

[0019] The upper spraying ports are vertically downward, the lower spraying ports are vertically upward, and the lower spraying ports are staggered with the upper spraying ports. By staggering the upper spraying ports and the lower spraying ports, it is avoided that the upper spraying ports and the lower spraying ports spray sterile hot air into the same position of the bottle blank, which causes the position to be overheated and deformed or damaged. The bottle blank is heated more uniformly as a whole, and the temperature of each position of the bottle blank is uniformly and stably increased.

[0020] The number of lower spray nozzles is less than the number of upper spray nozzles. When the bottle blank enters the heating furnace for heating, the outer surface of the bottle blank is first heated, and then the heat is gradually transferred to the inner surface of the bottle blank. Because the bottle blank is thick, the temperature rising speed of the outer surface of the bottle blank is greater than that of the inner surface of the bottle blank, that is, the inner surface of the bottle blank rises slowly, which leads to that the time for the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface of the bottle blank to reach the activation temperature is longer than that of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the outer surface of the bottle blank, and further leads to that the sterilization time of the inner surface of the bottle blank is shorter. By setting the number of upper spray nozzles to be more than the number of lower spray nozzles, when the bottle blank passes through the heating component, the heating effect of the heating component on the inner surface of the bottle blank is better than that on the outer surface of the bottle blank, that is, the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle blank entering the heating furnace is slightly higher than that of the outer surface of the bottle blank, which can shorten the time for the inner surface of the bottle blank to reach the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, so that the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously, and the sufficient sterilization of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank is ensured.

[0021] The first conveying assembly includes a first conveying turntable, and the second conveying assembly includes a second conveying turntable. The conveying paths of the first conveying turntable and the second conveying turntable are both arc-shaped and connected in sequence. When the bottle blank is conveyed on the first conveying turntable, the bottle blank can be preheated by the heating component. When the bottle blank is conveyed on the second conveying turntable, the bottle blank can be sprayed with vaporized hydrogen peroxide by the sterilization component. The two conveying turntables are arranged to make the conveying path arc-shaped and connectable in sequence, thereby prolonging the time for the bottle blank to pass through the heating component and the sterilization component, and making the preheating and vaporized hydrogen peroxide spraying of the bottle blank more uniform and sufficient for subsequent sterilization.

[0022] The application also provides a bottle blank sterilization method, which includes the following steps: step one, blowing sterile hot air to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank during the conveying process of the bottle blank to heat the bottle blank, so that the temperature of the bottle blank is not lower than 60 degrees Celsius; step two, spraying vaporized hydrogen peroxide to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank; and step three, heating the bottle blank. The technical scheme has the following technical effects:

[0023] The application heats the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank before spraying the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured for sterilization to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank, and raises the temperature of the bottle blank to not lower than 60 degrees Celsius. When the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed to the bottle blank, because the temperature of the bottle blank is high, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide attached to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank is not easy to condense. In the heating step after the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed, the hot bottle blank with a higher temperature takes a shorter time to rise to the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide than the cold bottle blank with a lower temperature. Therefore, the hot bottle blank with a fast temperature rising speed to the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide has a longer activation time, and the sterilization effect on the bottle blank is better.

[0024] In the bottle blank sterilization method, in step one, the amount of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is greater than the amount of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank. Because the inner surface of the bottle blank is harder to heat than the outer surface of the bottle blank, by increasing the amount of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank, the heating effect on the inner surface of the bottle blank can be enhanced, so that the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank can be heated more evenly, and by increasing the amount of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank, the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle blank entering the heating furnace can be controlled to be slightly higher than the temperature of the outer surface of the bottle blank, so that the time for the inner surface of the bottle blank to reach the activation temperature of the hydrogen peroxide vapor can be shortened, and the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously, so that the hydrogen peroxide vapor can sterilize the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank sufficiently.

[0025] In the bottle blank sterilization method, in step one, the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is higher than the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank. So that before the bottle blank is heated in step three, the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle blank is slightly higher than the temperature of the outer surface of the bottle blank, so that the phenomenon that the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner surface of the bottle blank reaches the activation temperature slower than the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the outer surface of the bottle blank due to the thickness of the bottle blank can be avoided, the time for the inner surface of the bottle blank to reach the activation temperature of the hydrogen peroxide vapor can be shortened, and the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously, so that the hydrogen peroxide vapor can sterilize the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank sufficiently.

[0026] In the bottle blank sterilization method, in step one, the temperature difference between the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank is A, and A≤5℃. By controlling the temperature difference between the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank within 5℃, when the bottle blank is heated in step three, the problem that the activation time of the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank is different can be avoided, and the sterilization effect on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank can be ensured.

[0027] The features and advantages of the present application will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] The present application will be further described by reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

[0029] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle blank sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Fig. 2 is a top view of the bottle blank sterilization device according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the bottle blank sterilization device according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Fig. 4 is an assembly view of an upper air supply chamber and an upper spraying unit according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 5 is an assembly view of the lower air chamber and the lower spraying unit in Example 1.

[0034] Reference signs: 110, first conveying assembly; 111, first conveying turntable; 120, second conveying assembly; 121, second conveying turntable; 200, heating component; 210, upper heating component; 211, upper air chamber; 2111, upper heating cavity; 212, upper spraying unit; 2121, upper spraying pipe; 2122, upper spraying port; 220, lower heating component; 221, lower air chamber; 2211, lower heating cavity; 222, lower spraying unit; 2221, lower spraying pipe; 2222, lower spraying port; 300, sterilization component; 400, bottle blank. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The bottle blank sterilization device provided in the present application comprises a conveying component configured to convey bottle blanks and a sterilization component configured to spray vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blanks, and further comprises a heating component. The conveying component comprises a first conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the heating component and a second conveying assembly with a conveying path passing through the sterilization component. The conveying path of the first conveying assembly is connected to the conveying path of the second conveying assembly in sequence. The heating component comprises an upper heating component configured to output sterile hot air to the interior of the bottle blanks and a lower heating component configured to output sterile hot air to the outer side of the bottle blanks. In the present application, the heating component is arranged on the conveying path of the conveying component and upstream of the sterilization component. When the conveying component conveys the bottle blanks, the bottle blanks first pass through the heating component to be heated on the inner and outer surfaces, and then pass through the sterilization component. The upper heating component and the lower heating component uniformly heat the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blanks to a certain temperature, and then the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blanks by the sterilization component. Because the bottle blanks have been uniformly heated to a high temperature by the sterile hot air sprayed by the upper heating component and the lower heating component before the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed on the bottle blanks, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide attached to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blanks is not easy to condense. This avoids the phenomenon that only part of the area of the bottle blank surface is attached with the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured to kill bacteria due to the condensation and flow of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the bottle blank surface. Furthermore, when the bottle blanks with a high temperature are continuously conveyed to the heating furnace for heating, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blanks will quickly reach the activation temperature to enter the activation state to kill the bacteria on the surface of the bottle blanks. That is, compared with the bottle blanks with a low temperature which are not preheated by the heating component, the hot bottle blanks preheated by the heating component take a shorter time to rise to the activation temperature required by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide when they enter the heating furnace. Therefore, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the hot bottle blanks has a longer sterilization time during the conveying process in the heating furnace, and the sterilization effect on the bottle blanks is better.

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be explained and described below in combination with the drawings of the embodiments of the present application. However, the following embodiments are only optional embodiments of the present application, and not all. Based on the embodiments in the embodiments, other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the protection scope of the present application.

[0037] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements indicated must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0038] In addition, the terms “first” and “second” are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined with “first” and “second” can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of “a plurality of” is two or more, unless otherwise explicitly limited.

[0039] In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms “mounting”, “connection”, “connection” and “fixing” and the like should be understood broadly, for example, can be fixedly connected, or can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically connected, or can be electrically connected; can be directly connected, or can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0040] In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the first feature “above” or “below” the second feature can include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or can include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, the first feature “above”, “above” and “above” the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature “below”, “below” and “below” the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is less than that of the second feature.

[0041] A bottle blank sterilization device, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, comprises a conveying component, a sterilization component 300 and a heating component 200, the conveying component is configured to convey bottle blanks 400, comprising a first conveying assembly 110 and a second conveying assembly 120, the conveying path of the first conveying assembly 110 passes through the heating component 200, the conveying path of the second conveying assembly 120 passes through the sterilization component 300, and the conveying path of the first conveying assembly 110 and the conveying path of the second conveying assembly 120 are connected in front and back. The heating component 200 comprises an upper heating component 210 and a lower heating component 220, the upper heating component 210 is configured to output sterile hot air to the inner surface of the passing bottle blank 400 to heat the inner surface of the bottle blank 400, and the lower heating component 220 is configured to output sterile hot air to the outer surface of the passing bottle blank 400 to heat the outer surface of the bottle blank 400, so that the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank 400 are heated synchronously, so as to achieve the purpose of rapid and uniform heating of the bottle blank 400.

[0042] When the bottle blank 400 is conveyed, the bottle blank 400 is first conveyed by the first conveying assembly 110, and in the process of conveying the bottle blank 400, the conveying path of the bottle blank 400 passes through the heating component 200, the heating component 200 synchronously preheats the inner and outer surfaces of the passing bottle blank 400, so that the bottle blank 400 is heated, and then the bottle blank 400 is transferred from the first conveying assembly 110 to the second conveying assembly 120, and then conveyed by the second conveying assembly 120, and in the process of conveying the bottle blank 400, the conveying path of the bottle blank 400 passes through the sterilization component 300, and the sterilization component 300 sprays the passing bottle blank 400 with vaporized hydrogen peroxide to make the vaporized hydrogen peroxide uniformly adhere to the surface of the bottle blank 400.

[0043] The application sets the heating component 200 on the conveying path of the conveying component, and sets the heating component 200 upstream of the sterilization component 300, so that when the conveying component conveys the bottle blank 400, the bottle blank 400 first passes through the heating component 200 to heat the inside and outside of the bottle blank 400, and then passes through the sterilization component 300, and the sterilization component 300 sprays vaporized hydrogen peroxide onto the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank 400. Because the bottle blank 400 has been uniformly heated to a high temperature by the sterile hot air sprayed by the upper heating component 210 and the lower heating component 220 before the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed onto the bottle blank 400, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide attached to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank 400 is not easy to condense, avoiding the phenomenon that only part of the area of the bottle blank 400 surface is attached with the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured to kill bacteria due to the condensation and flow of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank 400, and further avoiding the phenomenon that the vaporized hydrogen peroxide only kills bacteria in part of the area of the bottle blank 400. When the bottle blank 400 with a high temperature is continuously conveyed to the heating furnace for heating, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank 400 will quickly reach the activation temperature to enter the activation state to kill the bacteria on the surface of the bottle blank 400. That is, compared with the bottle blank 400 with a low temperature which is not preheated by the heating component 200, the hot bottle blank 400 preheated by the heating component 200 takes a shorter time to heat to the activation temperature required by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, so that the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the hot bottle blank 400 has a longer sterilization time during the conveying process in the heating furnace, and the sterilization effect on the bottle blank 400 is better.

[0044] The conveying paths of the first conveying assembly 110 and the second conveying assembly 120 in the embodiment can be straight or arc-shaped. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the first conveying assembly 110 includes a first conveying turntable 111, and the second conveying assembly 120 includes a second conveying turntable 121. The conveying paths of the first conveying turntable 111 and the second conveying turntable 121 are both arc-shaped and connected in sequence. When the bottle blank 400 is conveyed on the first conveying turntable, it can be preheated by the heating component 200. When the bottle blank 400 is conveyed on the second conveying turntable 121, it can be sprayed with vaporized hydrogen peroxide by the sterilization component 300. The arrangement of the two conveying turntables makes the conveying path arc-shaped and connected in sequence, prolongs the time for the bottle blank 400 to pass through the heating component 200 and the sterilization component 300, and makes the preheating of the bottle blank 400 and the coverage of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the bottle blank 400 more uniform and sufficient for subsequent sterilization.

[0045] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper heating component 210 is located above the first conveying turntable 111, and includes an upper air chamber 211 having an upper heating cavity 2111 with a bottom opening and an upper spraying unit 212 having an upper spraying pipe 2121 and a plurality of upper spraying nozzles 2122 located in the upper heating cavity 2111, the upper spraying pipe 2121 penetrating through the upper air chamber 211 and extending into the upper heating cavity 2111 to communicate with the plurality of upper spraying nozzles 2122, the sterile hot air transmitted in the upper spraying pipe 2121 is sprayed through the upper spraying nozzles 2122 to the inside of the bottle blank 400 passing through the upper heating cavity 2111 to heat the inner surface of the bottle blank 400, the sterile hot air overflowing from the top of the bottle blank 400 to the upper heating cavity 2111 increases the overall temperature of the upper heating cavity 2111, and can also heat the outer sidewall of the top of the bottle blank 400 located in the upper heating cavity 2111, and the heating effect of the bottle blank 400 is good.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the lower heating component 220 is located below the first conveying turntable 111, and includes a lower air chamber 221 having a lower heating cavity 2211 with a top opening and a lower spraying unit 222 having a lower spraying pipe 2221 and a plurality of lower spraying nozzles 2222 located in the lower heating cavity 2211, the lower spraying pipe 2221 penetrating through the lower air chamber 221 and extending into the lower heating cavity 2211 to communicate with the plurality of lower spraying nozzles 2222, the sterile hot air transmitted in the lower spraying pipe 2221 is sprayed through the lower spraying nozzles 2222 into the lower heating cavity 2211 to increase the temperature in the lower heating cavity 2211, and then heat the outer surface of the bottle blank 400 in the lower heating cavity 2211 through heat conduction, the upper and lower parts of the bottle blank 400 conveyed on the first conveying turntable 111 are located in the upper heating cavity 2111 and the lower heating cavity 2211 respectively for heating, so that the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank 400 are uniformly heated, and the uneven heating of the bottle blank 400 causes the subsequent vaporized hydrogen peroxide to condense on the bottle blank 400.

[0047] In the embodiment, the upper blow nozzles 2122 are vertically downwardly arranged, and the upper blow nozzles 2122 are arranged one-to-one with the bottle preforms 400 in the upper heating cavity 2111. When the bottle preforms 400 pass through the upper heating cavity 2111, each of the upper blow nozzles 2122 is aligned with the open top of one of the bottle preforms 400, so that the sterile hot air blown out of the upper blow nozzles 2122 vertically enters the inside of the corresponding bottle preform 400 to heat the inner surface of the bottle preform 400. The lower blow nozzles 2222 are vertically upwardly arranged. Optionally, the upper blow nozzles 2122 are staggered with the lower blow nozzles 2222. Not only are the upper blow nozzles 2122 and the lower blow nozzles 2222 distributed along the circumference of the first conveying turntable 111 in a staggered manner, but also the horizontal distance between the lower blow nozzles 2222 and the central axis of the first conveying turntable 111 is different from the horizontal distance between the upper blow nozzles 2122 and the central axis of the first conveying turntable 111. Therefore, the overall heating of the bottle preform 400 is more uniform, and the over-heating and deformation or damage of the same position of the bottle preform 400 caused by the alignment of the upper blow nozzles 2122 and the lower blow nozzles 2222 is avoided, so that the temperature of each position of the bottle preform 400 uniformly and stably rises.

[0048] Because when the bottle preform 400 attached with the vaporized hydrogen peroxide subsequently enters the heating furnace for heating, the outer surface of the bottle preform 400 is first heated, and then the heat is gradually transferred to the inner surface of the bottle preform 400. Since the bottle preform 400 is relatively thick, the temperature rising speed of the outer surface of the bottle preform 400 is greater than that of the inner surface of the bottle preform 400, that is, the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 rises slowly. Therefore, when the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the outer surface of the bottle preform 400 reaches the activation temperature, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 has not reached the activation temperature, that is, the time for the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 to reach the activation temperature is longer than that of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the outer surface of the bottle preform 400, which further leads to the shortening of the sterilization time of the inner surface of the bottle preform 400. In order to shorten the time for the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 to reach the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, the number of the upper blow nozzles 2122 is greater than that of the lower blow nozzles 2222 in the embodiment, so that when the bottle preform 400 passes through the heating component 200, the heating effect of the heating component 200 on the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 is better than that on the outer surface of the bottle preform 400, that is, the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 to be entered into the heating furnace is slightly higher than that of the outer surface, so that the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface of the bottle preform 400 in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously with the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the outer surface, and the sufficient sterilization of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle preform 400 is ensured.

[0049] A bottle preform sterilization method, comprising the following steps:

[0050] Step one, during the conveying of the bottle preform, sterile hot air is blown to the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle preform in a normal temperature state to heat the bottle preform, so that the temperature of the bottle preform is not lower than 60 degrees Celsius;

[0051] Step two, spray the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured to sterilize to the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank at the same time, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide adheres to the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank;

[0052] Step three, heat the bottle blank, so that the bottle blank rapidly heats up to the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and then sterilize the bottle blank through the activated vaporized hydrogen peroxide.

[0053] Before spraying the vaporized hydrogen peroxide configured to sterilize to the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank, the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank are heated first, and the temperature of the bottle blank is raised to not less than 60 degrees Celsius, so that when the vaporized hydrogen peroxide is sprayed to the bottle blank, because the temperature of the bottle blank is high, the vaporized hydrogen peroxide adhering to the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank is not easy to condense. In the heating step after spraying the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, the hot bottle blank with a higher temperature takes less time to heat up to the activation temperature required by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide than the cold bottle blank with a lower temperature, so the hot bottle blank that rapidly heats up to the activation temperature required by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide has a longer activation time, and the sterilization effect on the bottle blank is better. The bottle blank in step one is at room temperature before heating, which is only an optional implementation of the embodiment, and the bottle blank can also be at a low temperature or a high temperature before heating, as long as the temperature of the bottle blank is lower than before heating.

[0054] In step one, the gas quantity of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is greater than the gas quantity of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank. Because the heating difficulty of the inner surface of the bottle blank is greater than that of the outer surface of the bottle blank, by increasing the gas quantity of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank, the heating effect on the inner surface of the bottle blank is enhanced, so that the heating of the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank is more uniform, and by increasing the gas quantity of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank, the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle blank entering the heating furnace is also controlled to be slightly higher than the temperature of the outer surface of the bottle blank, so as to shorten the time for the inner surface of the bottle blank to reach the activation temperature of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, so that the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously, and the sufficient sterilization of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide on the inner surface and the outer surface of the bottle blank is ensured.

[0055] Of course, it can be understood that the embodiment can also set the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank to be higher than the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank to enhance the heating effect on the inner surface of the bottle blank, so that the temperature of the inner surface of the bottle blank is slightly higher than the temperature of the outer surface of the bottle blank, to avoid the phenomenon that the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner surface of the bottle blank reaches the activation temperature slower than the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the outer surface of the bottle blank reaches the activation temperature due to the thickness of the bottle blank; the embodiment can also set the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank to be higher than the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank when the amount of sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is greater than the amount of sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank, to enhance the heating effect on the inner surface of the bottle blank by combining the two. As long as the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank in the heating furnace can be activated synchronously.

[0056] Optionally, in step one, the temperature difference between the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank is A, which satisfies A≤5 degrees Celsius. By controlling the temperature difference between the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank within 5 degrees Celsius, the activation time of the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank can be avoided, and the sterilization effect of the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank can be ensured.

[0057] The above is only an optional embodiment of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Any technical solutions falling within the scope of the present application are within the protection scope of the present application. It should be noted that some improvements and refinements made by ordinary skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present application are also considered within the protection scope of the present application. Industrial applicability

[0058] The bottle blank sterilization device of the present application sets the heating component upstream of the sterilization component, so that when the conveying component conveys the bottle blank, the bottle blank first passes through the heating component to heat the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank, and then passes through the sterilization component to spray the hydrogen peroxide vapor to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle blank, so that the hydrogen peroxide vapor attached to the surface of the bottle blank is not easy to condense, and when the bottle blank with high temperature is continuously conveyed to the heating furnace for heating, the hydrogen peroxide vapor on the surface of the bottle blank will quickly reach the activation temperature to kill the bacteria on the surface of the bottle blank, and the sterilization effect is better.

Claims

1. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus comprising a conveying means configured to convey a bottle preform and a sterilization means configured to spray a gasified hydrogen peroxide inside and outside of the bottle preform, characterized in that: The heating component includes an upper heating component outputting sterile hot air inside the bottle blank and a lower heating component outputting sterile hot air outside the bottle blank.

2. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein: The upper heating component includes an upper air chamber with an upper heating cavity and an upper spraying unit with a plurality of upper spraying ports, the upper spraying unit being arranged on the upper air chamber so that the upper spraying ports are located in the upper heating cavity.

3. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein: The lower heating component includes a lower air chamber with a lower heating cavity and a lower spraying unit with a plurality of lower spraying ports, the lower spraying unit being arranged on the lower air chamber so that the lower spraying ports are located in the lower heating cavity.

4. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein: The upper spraying ports are vertically downward, the lower spraying ports are vertically upward, and the lower spraying ports are staggered with the upper spraying ports.

5. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein: The number of the lower spraying ports is less than the number of the upper spraying ports.

6. A bottle preform sterilization apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The first conveying assembly includes a first conveying turntable, and the second conveying assembly includes a second conveying turntable, the conveying paths of the first conveying turntable and the second conveying turntable are both arc-shaped and connected in sequence.

7. A method of sterilizing a bottle preform, characterized by, The method includes the following steps: Step one, during the conveying of the bottle blank, sterile hot air is blown to the inside and outside of the bottle blank to heat the bottle blank, so that the temperature of the bottle blank is not lower than 60 degrees Celsius; Step two, gaseous hydrogen peroxide is sprayed to the inside and outside of the bottle blank; Step three, the bottle blank is heated.

8. A method of sterilizing a bottle preform as defined in claim 7, wherein: In step one, the amount of sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is greater than the amount of sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank.

9. A method of sterilizing a bottle preform according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: In step one, the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the inner surface of the bottle blank is higher than the temperature of the sterile hot air blown to the outer surface of the bottle blank.

10. A method of sterilizing a bottle preform as defined in claim 7, wherein: In step one, the temperature difference between the inner surface of the bottle blank and the outer surface of the bottle blank is A, and A≤5 degrees Celsius is satisfied.

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