METHOD FOR ASEPTIC FILLING OF A CONTAINER, A STERILE FILLING DEVICE FOR SAID METHOD, AND AN ASEPTIC MACHINE

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for aseptic filling of a container with filling product, wherein the container is transported into an area of a sterile space assigned to the container, and then a mouth area of the container is then placed with a cap for filling in a mouth opening of the sterile space. The invention further relates to a sterile filling device for aseptic filling of a container, in particular for carrying out the stated method, with a sterile space which, in the bottom, comprises a mouth opening for a mouth area of a container and, in the lid, comprises a filling valve and a capper, wherein the filling valve or the capper can be brought into alignment with the mouth opening. Moreover, the invention relates to an aseptic machine with a carousel and, arranged on the latter, sterile filling devices which each have a sterile space, wherein an irradiating device is arranged in the periphery of the carousel for the purpose of irradiating at least the sterile filling device with electrons and/or X-rays prior to a filling operation.

Claims

1. A method for aseptic filling of a container with filling product, characterized in that a container is transported to an area of a sterile space that is assigned to the container and subsequently a mouth area of the container including a cap is placed in a mouth opening of the sterile space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sterile space and the introduced mouth area including the cap are sterilized.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after placing the mouth area in the mouth opening and prior to the filling, the cap is removed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the container is filled.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein after the filling, the cap is reattached to the mouth area placed in the mouth opening.

6. A sterile filling device for aseptically filling a container, in particular, for performing the method according to claim 1, including a sterile space that comprises in the bottom a mouth opening for a mouth area of the container and comprises in the lid a filling valve and a capper, wherein the filling valve and the capper, respectively, are configured to enable alignment with the mouth opening.

7. The sterile filling device of claim 6, wherein the bottom further comprises a cleaning nozzle that can be brought into alignment with the filling valve.

8. The sterile filling device of claim 6, wherein at least one of the bottom and the lid comprises an access for sterile gas.

9. The sterile filling device of claim 6, comprising a material that is transparent for at least one of electrons and X-rays for sterilizing the sterile space.

10. The sterile filling device of claim 6, wherein overpressure of 0.2 bar with respect to the ambient pressure is provided in the sterile space.

11. The sterile filling device of claim 6, wherein the bottom is configured as a stator and the lid is configured as a rotor, wherein the rotor is configured to be rotatable with respect to the stator, and wherein the rotor is preferably configured so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis with respect to the stator.

12. The sterile filling device of claim 11, wherein at least one of the filling valve and the capper is movable parallel to the rotation axis.

13. An aseptic machine with a rotating carousel characterized by a plurality of sterile filling devices according to claim 6, each with a sterile space provided for aseptic filling of a container with filling product, and an irradiation apparatus at the periphery of the rotating carousel for irradiating at least the sterile filling device with at least one of electrons and X-rays prior to performing a filling process.

14. The aseptic machine of claim 13, further comprising an evaluation and control device for acquiring and evaluating state data of the sterile filling devices and for establishing and forwarding control data on the basis of the state data.

15. The aseptic machine of claim 14, further comprising at least one redirecting star for redirecting filled containers, wherein the redirecting star is controllable by the control data.

16. The aseptic machine of claim 15, wherein a first one of the at least one redirecting star is configured to redirect a filled container to a printing device, a second one of the at least one redirecting star is configured to redirect a filled container to an output and/or a third one of the at least one redirecting star is configured to redirect a filled container to a discharge point.

17. A method for aseptic filling of a container in an aseptic machine of claim 13, the method comprising the steps: transporting the container into an area of a sterile space, the area being assigned to the container, placing the mouth area of the container in the mouth opening of the sterile space for filling, sterilizing the sterile space and the introduced mouth area, after placing the mouth area in the mouth opening and prior to the filling, removing the cap, aligning the filling valve with the mouth opening, moving the filling valve parallel to the rotation axis, introducing the filling valve into the mouth opening, filling the container with filling product, removing the filling valve from the mouth opening, attaching the cap after the filling and removing the mouth area from the mouth opening.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps: acquiring and evaluating state data of the sterile filling device and establishing and forwarding control data on the basis of the state data.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising at least one of the following steps: redirecting the filled container to a printing device, redirecting the filled container to an output, diverting the filled container.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] For the purpose of a better understanding and visualization, the attached figures illustrate aspects of the present invention in an exemplary manner. In the figures:

[0041] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of a sterile filling device,

[0042] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross section of the first embodiment of the sterile filling device,

[0043] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the method for aseptic filling of containers with a cap using the first embodiment of the sterile filling device,

[0044] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an aseptic machine and

[0045] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for redirecting a filled container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a first embodiment of a sterile filling device 1. This sterile filling device 1 is configured for filling spout film bags 2 including a cap 3. To this end, the mouth opening 4 in the bottom 5 of the sterile space 6, i.e., in the stator 5, is provided with a cap 3 for receiving the spout 7. Moreover, in the bottom 5, there is provided a cleaning nozzle 8 to be used for cleaning the filling valve 9 and the capper 10. The filling valve 9 and the capper 10 are provided in the lid 11 of the sterile space 6, that is, in the rotor 11. The filling valve 9, the mouth opening 4 and also the capper 10 are arranged such that the capper 10 and the filling valve 9 may be aligned with the mouth opening 4. The cleaning nozzle 8 is arranged so that it can be aligned with the filling valve 9 and the capper 10.

[0047] The rotor/lid 11 is arranged so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis 14 with respect to the stator/bottom 5 such that the capper 10 or the filling valve 9 may be positioned above the mouth opening 4, i.e., be aligned therewith. In this manner, a cap 3 of the spout film bag 2 may be subsequently removed by rotating the rotor/lid 11, the filling valve 9 may be positioned above the mouth opening 4 and by movement parallel to the rotation axis 14 it may be inserted into the mouth opening 4 and, thus, into the mouth area 7, so that the spout film bag 2 may be filled. Thereafter, by a movement parallel to the rotation axis 14, the filling valve 9 may be again removed from the mouth opening 4 or from the mouth area 7 and by a rotation of the rotor/lid 11, the capper 10 may be positioned above the mouth opening or the mouth area 7 so that the cap 3 may be attached to or put on the spout film bag 2.

[0048] A sealing of the sterile space 6 with respect to the environment is accomplished by a retaining bracket 12 together with a gasket ring 13 that is positioned outside the sterile space 6 at the bottom/stator 5.

[0049] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic cross section of the first embodiment of the sterile filling device 1. In this embodiment, the filling valve 9, the mouth opening 4, the capper 10 and the cleaning nozzle 8 have a same radial distance R from the rotation axis 14. Therefore, it is possible by a rotation of the rotor/lid 11 relative to the stator/bottom 5 to stack these elements by rotation, i.e., to align these elements, so that a filling of the spout film bag 2 or a cleaning of the filling valve 9 or of the capper 10 may be accomplished.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a method for an aseptic filling of a container including a cap, such as the spout film bag, by using the first embodiment of the sterile filling device as described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0051] In step 100, the container is transported to the sterile filling device. For a spout film bag, a retaining bracket may be provided for this purpose, wherein the retaining bracket engages at an upper portion of the spout film bag. In step 101, the mouth area of the container is placed in the mouth opening of the sterile space of the sterile filling device. In step 102, the sterile space is sterilized, wherein the sterilization may be performed with sterile gas and/or with irradiation with electrons and X-rays.

[0052] In step 103, the capper is aligned with the mouth opening and, thus, with the mouth area. In step 104, the capper is lowered by moving it parallel to the rotation axis so that it is positioned such that the cap may be removed from the container. In step 105, the cap is removed from the container. In step 106, the capper is raised by a movement parallel to the rotation axis.

[0053] In step 107, the filling valve is aligned with the mouth opening and, thus, also with the mouth area of the container, wherein to this end, for instance, a rotation around the rotation axis is performed so as to rotate the lid with respect to the bottom or the rotor with respect to the stator of the sterile space.

[0054] In step 108, the filling valve is introduced into the mouth area of the container or the filling valve is positioned above the mouth area by a movement parallel to the rotation axis. In step 109, the container is filled with filling product. In step 110 the filling valve is removed from the mouth area of the container by a movement parallel to the rotation axis.

[0055] In step 111, the capper is aligned with the mouth opening and, thus, with the mouth area, which may be accomplished by performing a rotation around the rotation axis by rotating the lid with respect to the bottom or the rotor with respect to the stator of the sterile space. In step 112, the capper is lowered by a movement parallel to the rotation axis. In step 113, the cap is attached to the container. In step 114, the capper is raised by a movement parallel to the rotation axis.

[0056] In step 115, the mouth area of the container is removed from the mouth opening of the sterile space, which may be accomplished by, for instance, lowering downwardly the retaining bracket that holds the spout film bag. The filled container that is sealed by the cap may then be used for further operations.

[0057] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an aseptic machine 15 that is configured for establishing, filling and forwarding filled-up spout film bags. The film bags are provided in a magazine 16 from which the film bags are transferred to an apparatus 17 that shrink-wraps spouts in the film bags and attaches caps to the spouts.

[0058] In the illustrated embodiment of the aseptic machine 15, the spout film bags are transferred to a rotating carousel 20 by two redirecting stars 18, 19. A plurality of sterile filling devices that are not shown are arranged at the rotating carousel 20. The transfer of the spout film bags to the rotating carousel 20 is performed in a first area 21 of the rotating carousel 15.

[0059] Each spout film bag is associated with one sterile filling device, wherein in the bottom, the sterile filling device comprises a mouth opening for a mouth area, i.e., in this case, for the spout of the spout film bag, and comprises a filling valve in the lid, wherein the filling valve may be aligned with the mouth opening.

[0060] Placing the spout in the mouth opening and subsequently removing the cap are performed in a second area 22 of the carousel 15.

[0061] The sterile space of the sterile filling device together with the cap and the mouth area placed in the mouth opening is sterilized in a third area 23 of the carousel 20. At the same time, sterilizing that area of the spout film bag that is positioned outside the sterile space may also be performed. The sterilizing may be performed by means of electrons and/or X-rays emitted by an irradiation apparatus 26 positioned at the periphery of the rotating carousel 20.

[0062] Thereafter, the spout film bags are filled in a fourth area 24 of the rotating carousel 20 by means of the filling valve of the sterile filling device. After completion of the filling process, the cap is reattached to the spout film bag in this fourth area 24.

[0063] The mouth areas of the filled and sealed spout film bags are removed from the mouth openings of the sterile filling devices in a fifth area 25 of the rotating carousel 15.

[0064] In order to determine whether a filled and sealed spout film bag has been filled under conditions that meet the requirements of an aseptic filling in the food industry and/or animal food industry, state data may be required and evaluated by means of an evaluation and control device not shown, wherein the state data corresponds to a sterile filling device associated with the corresponding spout film bag. The state data may comprise the negative pressure in the sterile space, the sterilization of the sterile space and possibly also of the spout film bag and/or the filling process.

[0065] In an evaluation step, the state data may be compared with reference data in order to determine whether the state data match the reference data, meaning that the requirements of an aseptic filling are met or whether the entirety or a part of the state data does not match the reference data, meaning that the requirement of an aseptic filling are at least partially not met.

[0066] Based on the state data, the evaluation and control device may establish control data and may forward the control data to the redirecting stars 27, 28, 29 positioned downstream of the rotating carousel 20.

[0067] If the control data are based on the fact that the state data match the reference data, then the redirecting star 27 that directs or redirects the filled spout film bag to a printing device may be controlled, or the redirecting star 29 that directs or redirects the filled spout film to an output 31 may be controlled.

[0068] If the control data is based on the fact that the entirety or a part of the state data does not match the reference data, the redirecting star 28 may be controlled so as to redirect the filled spout film bag to a discharge point 30, thereby diverting this spout film bag.

[0069] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of a method for redirecting a filled container. A corresponding filled container may result from the method as illustrated in FIG. 3. In step 201, state data of the sterile film device is acquired or obtained and analyzed. The state data may comprise or relate to the negative pressure in the sterile space, the sterilization of the sterile space and possibly of the spout film bag and/or the filing process.

[0070] During the evaluation, the acquired state data may be compared with reference data in order to determine whether the state data match the reference data, meaning that the requirements of an aseptic filling are met, or whether the entirety or a part of the state data does not match the reference data, meaning that the requirements of an aseptic filling are at least partially not met. This reference data may be known to the evaluation and control device, however, this reference data may also be entered or read out from a data storage.

[0071] In step 202, control data are established and forwarded on the basis of the state data. In step 203, the filled container is redirected or directed to a printing device, for instance, when the control data are based on the fact that the state data match the reference data. Therefore, the redirecting star 27 may be controlled that then redirects the filled spout film bag to a printing device.

[0072] In step 204, the filled container is redirected to an output, for instance when the control data are based on the fact that the state data match the reference data. Accordingly, the redirecting star 29 may be controlled, which redirects the filled spout film bag to the output 31.

[0073] In step 205, the filled container is diverted, for instance, when the control data are based on the fact that the entirety or a part of the state data does not match the reference data. Accordingly, the redirecting star 28 may be controlled, which redirects the filled spout film bag to a discharge point 30, thereby diverting the spout film bag.

[0074] While there have been shown and described fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred and exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, as is readily apparent, numerous modifications and changes may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Hence, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described and, accordingly, all suitable modification equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as claimed. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.