Aseptic Packaging Method And Machine

Abstract

An apparatus for aseptically packaging food and other products includes a housing which defines an enclosed sterile chamber and contains an endless conveyor having an upper flight adapted to transport individual containers through a plurality of operating stations. The housing is formed with a container sterilization section located adjacent one end of the conveyor and has a container dispenser mechanism mounted therein which holds individual containers in this section for a predetermined period of time and thereafter dispenses the containers on the upper flight of the conveyor; the latter transports the containers to a filling station where a sterile product is placed in the container. Downstream of the filling station, a continuous strip of interconnected covers is sequentially advanced, through a cover sterilization section formed in the housing, into position in registry with the containers on the conveyor. Thereafter, the covers are heat sealed to the containers and discharged from the housing. The entire sterile chamber is supplied with a sterile atmosphere at a pressure above atmospheric pressure to maintain the containers and covers in a sterile condition during the filling and cover sealing operation.

Description

The present invention relates to aseptic packaging of food, drugs and other products, and in particular, to an apparatus for sterilizing containers and covers, filling the containers with a sterile product, and securing the covers to the containers, all within a single sterile enclosure.

A number of previous attempts have been made to provide aseptic packaging apparatus in which a sterile food product or the like is placed in containers and enclosed to preserve the product for later use. However, none of these prior attempts has been completely successful because heretofore it has not been possible to completely eliminate the risk of recontamination of the food product or the container during the filling and closing operations. As a result, it has been found necessary to carry out a re-sterilization of the filled container in order to insure the complete elimination of contaminating bacteria in the container or the food product prior to storage and shipment. This re-sterilization represents an additional expense in the packaging process and, because of the generally high temperatures required for the re-sterilization, the quality and taste of food products are often detrimentally affected thereby.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to sterilize, fill and seal a container for a food product and the like in a single sterile enclosure so as to eliminate the requirement for re-sterilization after completion of the packaging operation.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which will package sterile food products and the like under sterile conditions in a single enclosure and which is relatively inexpensive in construction and durable in use.

Yet another object of the present invention is to package food products and the like under sterile conditions in which the possibility of contamination of the products during the packaging operation is substantially eliminated.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention an apparatus for aseptically packaging food, drugs and other products, under sterile conditions, is provided in which an enclosed sterilization chamber, formed from a substantially air-impervious housing, has an endless conveyor mounted entirely therein for sequentially moving containers to be filled through a plurality of operating stations located along one of the flights of the conveyor. The housing includes a container sterilization section located at a first station therein to which individual containers are supplied. A container dispenser is mounted in the container sterilization section and receives the individual containers and deposits them on the conveyor. The container dispenser holds the containers in the sterilization chamber for a predetermined period of time, as the container is moved towards the conveyor from the point at which it is supplied to the sterilization chamber, so that the container is sterilized immediately prior to being placed on the conveyor.

Once the containers are on the conveyor, they are moved to a second station in the housing at which a filling device is mounted to fill the containers with a sterile food product or the like, as they are sequentially presented at this station. Downstream of the filling station, the housing is formed with a cover sterilization section having a predetermined length and containing means for sequentially advancing a continuous strip of interconnected die cut covers from a point of entry into the housing to a position over the containers and in registry therewith. The length of the cover sterilization section is so selected that the time taken for movement of an individual cover from the point of entry into the housing to the point of application to the filled container is sufficient for the covers to be completely sterilized and all bacteria thereon destroyed.

From the point of application of the covers to the containers, the containers are sequentially moved by the conveyor to a cover sealing station located within the enclosure at which means are provided for heat sealing the cover to the container. Thereafter, the conveyor moves the sealed container to a station at which the interconnection between the container lids is severed and thence to a discharge apparatus which removes the separated containers from the conveyor and discharges them from the enclosure.

The entire sterile chamber is supplied with a sterile atmosphere such as, for example, dry, high-temperature steam or superheated air, so that each of the packaging operations is performed under sterile conditions and the container and cover are sterilized and maintained sterile as part of the packaging operation itself. The sterile atmosphere is supplied at a pressure above atmospheric, so that sterile air will leak out of the chamber through any openings in the housing, thereby preventing any non-sterile air surrounding the packaging apparatus from entering the sterile chamber.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B together comprise a sectional elevation view of an aseptic packaging apparatus constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the container transport conveyor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of a strip of covers adapted to be utilized in conjunction with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the cover strip in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view, similar to FIG. 3, of another embodiment of covers which are suitable for use with the present invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it is seen that an aseptic packaging apparatus 10, embodying the present invention, includes a substantially air-impervious outer housing 12 which defines an enclosed sterile chamber 14 in which the packaging operations are performed. Housing 12 is supported in any desired manner, as for example by legs 16 located at the corners of the housing, and has an endless chain type conveyor 18 rotatably mounted therein for transporting individual containers through a plurality of operating stations located within chamber 14.

A sterile atmosphere is supplied to chamber 14 from a supply system 20 mounted on the lower portion of housing 12 and separated from chamber 14 by an air-impervious horizontal panel 22. The sterile atmosphere may be either dry high temperature steam or superheated air, with the water or air being supplied from a source thereof (not shown) to a heat exchanger coil 24 mounted within the chamber 26 defined by supply system 20. A conventional gas manifold 28 is mounted below heat exchanger coil 24 and the combustion products of the burning gases transfer the heat of the combustion to the water or air contained within heat exchanger coil 24 by conduction to heat the water or air in the coil to temperatures sufficiently high enough to kill bacteria in chamber 14. The steam or air thus heated flows from coil 24, at outlet 29, and is distributed within chamber 14 by a plurality of discharge manifolds 30. As more fully described hereinafter, the sterile atmosphere is supplied to chamber 14 at a pressure slightly above atmospheric.

Conveyor 18 is similar in construction to the conveyor disclosed in my copending patent application Ser. No. 53,947, filed July 10, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,997, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and is formed from a pair of endless edge chains 32 (FIGS. 1 and 2), which extend around pairs of spaced drive and driven sprockets 34, 36 respectively. Chains 32 are spaced apart a predetermined distance and are interconnected by a plurality of flights or panels 38 having openings 39 therein for the reception of containers to be filled. The drive to conveyor 18 may be through a chain and sprocket system from a drive motor (not shown) mounted at the base of the apparatus, or by any convenient drive system such as would be clear to those skilled in the art.

Conveyor 18 provides upper and lower flights 40, 42 respectively, with upper flight 40 moving towards the right in FIGS. 1A and 1B, passing a loading station 44 adjacent sprocket 34. Directly above loading station 44, housing 12 is formed to define a container sterilization section 46 in which individual containers 48 are held for a predetermined period of time sufficient for the temperature of the containers to be raised above a predetermined level, such as for example 350.degree. F, at which all possible contaminating bacteria or the like on the containers are destroyed.

Individual containers 48 are supplied to sterilization section 46 from a container storage hopper 50 mounted on housing 12 and are sequentially dispensed from the hopper to a platform 52 by a dispensing unit 54. The dispensing unit may be of conventional construction for supplying individual containers to the platform 52 in housing 12 and, in one embodiment of the invention, is constructed in a manner similar to the dspensing unit described in my above-mentioned patent application.

From platform 52 the individually dispensed containers 48 are supplied to a conveyor 56 mounted within sterilization chamber 46. Conveyor 56 is formed from a pair of spaced endless chains 58, only one of which is seen in the drawing, having a plurality of L-shaped platform members 60 pivotally connected thereto at the free ends 62 of their short legs. By this arrangement, it is seen that the long leg 64 of platform 60 will be located in a generally horizontal position along the downwardly moving flight 66 of conveyor 56. As a plaftorm 60 is presented in position adjacent platform 52, the individual containers 48 on the platform are moved onto platform 60 by a pneumatic or hydraulic ram 68. The latter has a pusher head 70 secured to its actuator rod 72 and is operated in synchronization with conveyor 56 so that containers 48 are moved towards conveyor 56 only when a platform 60 is adjacent platform 52. After a container 48 has been placed on platform 60, conveyor 56 is operated to move the next platform 60 into position adjacent platform 52. Simultaneously, and in synchronization therewith, dispenser unit 54 releases another individual container from the hopper 50 onto platform 52 and the sequence of operation is repeated.

It is noted that while only a single row of containers 48 is shown in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that one or more parallel rows of containers can be treated at the same time. That is, a series of container hoppers may be mounted adjacent each other, so that two or more cups are placed on platform 52, next to each other, and moved onto platforms 60 for simultaneous, side by side passage through apparatus 10, with each of the components in the apparatus being duplicated for each row of cups. In this manner, a plurality of cups may be treated at the same time within the single housing 12. Thus, for example, conveyor 18 has been illustrated in FIG. 2 as having two adjacent openings 39 in each flight 38 for simultaneously transporting two rows of containers through the apparatus. Further, while the specific mechanical drive systems for operating the various components of the present apparatus in synchronization have not been illustrated, the specific mechanisms form no part of the present invention and a variety of synchronization systems such as would occur to those skilled in the art may be utilized to drive the present apparatus.

Referring again to the drawing, as a platform 60 approaches the lower sprockets 74 (only one of which is seen in FIG. 1A) of conveyor 56, the platform begins to tilt about its pivotal connection 62 because of the movement of its center of gravity about the end sprocket. As the platform was moving down the vertical flight 66 of the conveyor, its rear edge portion 68 rested against the conveyor chains to support containers 48 in a horizontal position; however, as conveyor chains 58 move away from the rear edge of platform 60, i.e. as they move about sprockets 74, the center of gravity of platform 60 causes it to tilt. As a result, a container 48 on the platform slides therefrom under the influence of gravity. At the same time a flight 38 of conveyor 18 is presented at station 44 with its opening in location to receive the discharged container. Conveyor 18 is driven in synchronism with conveyor 56 in any convenient manner so that the synchronous arrival of platform 60 and a flight 38 of the conveyor is assured.

In this manner a sterilized container is supplied to conveyor 18 at station 44. The container is supported in the opening 39 in a flight 38 by its rim 49 and is sequentially moved from station 44 to a second operating station 80 by the conveyor. At this operating station a sterile feed system 82 is provided for automatically filling containers 48 presented at the station with a sterile food product, drug or the like. The filling system may be of a known construction such as for example, the "Apparatus for Dispensing Viscous Materials" disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 846,742, filed Aug. 1, 1969 and now abandoned, and is operated in synchronism with conveyor 18 so that as a container 48 is presented at filling station 80, a predetermined supply of food or the like is automatically dispensed into the container. It is noted that the food product supplied to the sterile feed system 82 is supplied in a sterile condition from its point of manufacture through a closed supply system or conduit 84 so that it is sterile when released into container 48 by the feed system. Since the containers 48 and the atmosphere in chamber 14 are both sterile, there is no chance for the food to become contaminated in any way as it is dispensed into the containers.

Continuing from filling station 80, conveyor 18 sequentially moves the now filled containers 48 to a cover dispensing station 86 located downstream of the filling station with respect to the direction of travel of the conveyor. At station 86 housing 12 is formed with a cover sterilization chamber 88 of predetermined length, for reasons more fully described hereinafter.

Cover sterilization section 88 has an opening 90 (FIG. 1B) formed at its uppermost end through which a continuous strip of interconnected covers 92 pass from a rotatably mounted supply reel 94. Covers 92 are preferably formed as die cut covers having a peripheral configuration conforming to the peripheral configuration of the lip 49 of containers 48 with each of the covers interconnected in a strip by integral connecting portions 93, as seen in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the covers may be formed as a strip of aluminum foil or the like. In either case, the underside of the covers, that is, the side thereof which is to be in contact with the containers is treated with a heat sealable material or adhesive, for securing the cover to the container as described hereinafter.

From reel 94, the continuous strip of covers 92 is guided over a pair of rollers 98 and across a print roller 100 which is adapted to place an indentification code and/or date on the external surface of each lid in succession. From print roller 100, the strip fed covers pass through aperture 90 into housing 12 to a transport conveyor system 102. This system includes an endless feed belt 104 positioned about a plurality of rollers 106 and an unwinding roller 108 contained within sterilization section 88. Belt 104 has a plurality of teeth or pins 110 thereon which engage the edges of the covers in strip 92 and hold them to belt 104 for movement therewith to cover dispensing station 86.

Dry steam and/or superheated air is supplied to sterilization section 88 from system 20 through a pair of manifold members 30 in order to sterilize the covers in the supplied strip 92. The height or length of section 88 is predetermined so that the length of time taken for an individual cover to move from opening 90 to the point at which it is dispensed, i.e. adjacent unwinding roller 108, is sufficient for the temperature of the lids to be raised to a level, preferably 350.degree. F, at which all contaminating bacteria on the covers are destroyed, so that the covers are thus sterilized.

Unwinding roller 108 is driven in synchronization with conveyor 18 from the main power source of the apparatus so that individual covers on the strip 92 are presented at station 86 in synchronism with containers 48 and individual covers are moved into position over the containers 48 in registry therewith.

The use of the pinned conveyor belt 104 for guiding cover strips 92 through the sterilization section 88 is advantageous since the belt provides a self threading feature such that when a new supply reel 94 is utilized in the apparatus the free end of the strip 92 thereon is merely placed through opening 90 and the first cover is automatically engaged by the teeth or pins 110 on the belt to hold the cover strip against belt 104 and guide it into position at station 86. To assist in the self threading operation a plurality of guide plates 111 are mounted in sterilization section 88 to guide the free edge of the cover strip about the curves in the conveyor during the initial threading operation. In this manner any necessity of opening housing 12 to the atmosphere in order to thread the cover strip over unwinding roller 108 is eliminated. As a result, the apparatus need not be resterilized when a new supply of covers is initially supplied to the apparatus. On the other hand, it is contemplated that belt 104 may be eliminated and roller 108 provided with pins 110 in lieu thereof to hold strip 92 and guide it into position adjacent containers 48.

In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention a relatively simple system is provided to assure that each cover 92 is accurately positioned in registry with its associated container 48. To this end the interconnecting portions 93 between covers 92 in the strip of covers are formed with two integral section 93a and 93b respectively, as seen in FIG. 3. Section 93a is coplanar with its adjacent cover 92 (i.e. the cover behind it in the direction of travel of the strip) and has an aperture 93c formed therein, while section 93b is crimped or corrugated so that it has the capacity to readily expand or contract. Apertures 93c are accurately located in the connecting portions 93 with respect to their associated cover 92 and are adapted to be engaged with the upright pins 39a mounted on conveyor flights 38 adjacent apertures 39. Thus, as the covers 92 are moved into position over the containers 48 on conveyor 18 the apertures 93c become engaged with and receive pins 39a to insure that their associated cover 92 (i.e. the cover to the left of the apertures 93c in FIG. 3) is properly positioned on its associated container. To facilitate the engagement of pins 39a in apertures 93c, the pins may be formed as frustroconical members so as to compensate for errors in the tolerance permitted between the aperture and the pins.

In the event that the length of the connecting portion 93 is either too short or too long to allow exact registry of cover 92 with its associated container it will be appreciated that the deficiency or excess in such length will be accommodated by the expansion or contraction of its corrugated section 93b, which is now located between the pin 39a and the previously positioned cover 92 since engagement of pin 39a in aperture 39c will cause the cover 92, and thus straight section 93a, to shift to the right or left in the drawing when registry therebetween is improper. Accordingly, any tolerance errors in the exact permissible spacing between covers 92 is automatically compensated for as each cover is placed on the container. Of course, it will be recognized that this is an important feature of the present apparatus since without it, an error in tolerance between the spacing of even one pair of covers on the strip will cause the latter cover of the pair to be positioned out of exact registry with its associated container. This lack of registry or misalignment then becomes additive for each successive container being covered and therefore, even with only a slight variation of tolerance, the covers ultimately would be placed on the containers with complete lack of registry. By the provision of tolerance compensations between each successive cover, as described above, this problem is avoided.

In another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 5, the positions of the corrugated sections 93b and straight sections 93a of the cover strip are reversed. In this case when a pin 39a becomes engaged in aperture 93c, it will force the cover in front of it (in the direction of travel) to move into registry with its container, thereby expanding or contracting the corrugated section 93b' on the opposite side of the cover.

From station 86, containers 48, with the cover strip 92 placed on top of and in registry therewith, are moved to a sealing station 112 at which the covers are secured to the containers. Station 112 includes a conventional electrically heated heat sealing head 114 slidably mounted through an opening 116 in housing 12. Head 114 is connected to the actuator rod 118 of a hydraulic or pneumatic ram 12o which is operated in synchronism with conveyor 18 so that head 114 is lowered into contact with cover strip 92 when a container 48 is moved into position by conveyor 18. A rim 122 is preferably formed on head 114, which rim conforms in peripheral configuration to the periphery of the cover and the periphery of the container, so that heat and pressure are applied to the edges of the cover and lip 49 of the container. As a result, the heat sealable adhesive applied on the surface of the cover, as described above, is heated and pressed into engagement with the container to form a heat seal therebetween.

The cover which is thus heat sealed to container 48 provides a flawless seal for the contents of the cup which can withstand considerable abuse in handling, but which may readily be broken upon removal of the cover from the container. This type of a cover for containers is a substantial improvement over those previously proposed and utilized with sterile packaged food products. Such previously proposed arrangements are the conventional metallic pull tab type which have a weak resistance to shock and are susceptible to rupture of the score line along the top. In addition, such tops are dangerous since children apparently tend to lick these tops and are often cut by the sharp edges thereof. With the covers utilized in the aseptic packaging apparatus of the present invention, the heat seal has a greater resistance to the shock and the cover is approximately 1 percent container less in cost than the conventional tab top arrangements. Moreover, there are no sharp edges to cut children licking such covers.

Immediately downstream of heat sealing head 114, a cooled platen 126 is mounted for sliding movement in an opening 128 in housing 12. Platen 126 is mounted on the free end of the actuator rod 130 of a hydraulic or pneumatic ram 132 which serves to reciprocate the platen with respect to the containers and caps. A continuous supply of water or the like is passed through heat exchanger conduits 134 in the platen to cool it during use.

As a container 48 with a heat sealed cover secured thereto is presented beneath platen 126, the platen is moved downwardly by ram 132 into contact therewith. The cooled platen serves to maintain the cover in contact with the container and to cool the bond therebetween to the solidification temperature of the sealant material on the lid coating so that a flawless airtight seal is formed. The cooled platen is required because of the relatively high temperatures maintained within chamber 14 in order to maintain sterile conditions therein. That is, without platen 126 there would be the possibility that the seal would not fully solidify before the container 48 is discharged from the sterile enclosure. Thus, the cooled platen assures this solidification and completion of the seal prior to discharge from the sterile chamber. As a result, no resterilization of the container is required on completion of the packaging operation. Moreover, since the covers on strip 92 are still interconnected at this point in the operation, it is seen that the motion of conveyor 18 is transmitted through containers 48 to the cover strip 92, thereby to draw the strip with the conveyor.

A cutting station 136 is provided within housing 12 downstream from cooling platen 126. Station 136 includes a reciprocating knife member 138 which serves to sever the interconnection 93 between the covers on strip 92 along the line 95 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. As a result each interconnection 93 after the severing operation remains integral with one of the covers 92 and forms an extension tab which is utilized to remove or strip the cover from the container when the food or product within the container is to be used. Knife 138 is reciprocated in timed relation with the movement of conveyor 18 so that the interconnection 93 between each of the containers is severed in sequential relation. The mechanism for driving knife 138 in this relation is a relatively simple conventional mechanical movement which would be readily understood by those skilled in the art. It forms no part of the present invention, and therefore, is not described herein in detail.

At this point the filling operation is completed and the containers are ready for discharge from sterile chamber 14. To this end, a discharge conveyor system 150 is provided at the right end of conveyor 18. Conveyor system 150 includes an auxiliary belt conveyor 152 mounted between the flights of conveyor 18 and having one end thereof mounted on a roller 151 coaxially with the driven gear 36. The other end of conveyor 152 is positioned about a roller 153 of smaller diameter than roller 151 to form an inclined conveyor portion 154 which approaches conveyor 18 at a point adjacent the discharge end 156 thereof.

Belt 152 includes a plurality of lifting projections 158 on its exterior surface, which projections are spaced along the belt at distances equal to the distance between successive containers 48 in conveyor 18. As seen in the drawing, as projections 158 move to the right with belt 152, they engage the bottoms 160 of containers 48 and lift the containers from the openings 39 in flights 38 until the containers are substantially completely lifted from the flights. Conveyor 152 is driven in synchronism with conveyor 18 to insure that projections 158 will always contact the bases 160 of the containers.

To finally remove containers 48 from conveyor 18, a pair of fixed support rods 160 are mounted on housing 12 in spaced relation to each other. Although only one of the rods is seen in the drawings, it is to be understood that the rods are spaced adjacent each other a distance equal to the diameter of the containers 48, with their rear ends 162 projecting into chamber 14 through an opening 164 in housing 12. As conveyor 18 moves containers 48 about sprocket 36, the containers, having been lifted by projections 158, pass between the ends 162 of rods 160 and the undersides of their lips 49 are engaged by the rods. As a result, the containers rest on rod ends 162 and are fully removed from their associated conveyor flight 38 as it moves about sprockets 36. Rods 160 are inclined so that containers 48 will, under the influence of gravity, slide between the rods and be guided thereby to the exterior of the housing where they are discharged at the front ends 166 of rods 160 onto a discharge conveyor 168 for further packaging and shipment.

The sterile atmosphere supplied to enclosure 14 from supply system 20 maintains the equipment, containers and food within the container in a sterile condition and prevents contamination thereof during the packaging operation. Substantially all of the sterile atmosphere supplied to chamber 14 passes from the nozzles 31 in the manifolds 30 located adjacent base 22 of the chamber. This sterile steam or superheated air is supplied at a temperature which is sufficiently high enough to maintain sterile conditions within the chamber at all times.

A greater volume of the sterile steam or superheated air atmosphere is supplied to the sterilization chambers 46 and 88 through the additional manifolds 30 respectively located therein. The supply of this additional heated sterile atmosphere to these points maintains the temperature in these sections at a somewhat higher level than in the remainder of the chamber 14. This additional heat is required in order to sterilize the containers and covers transported through these sections of the chambers. The additional heat brings the temperature of the containers and covers, which are supplied thereto in a normally clean condition, to a level sufficiently high to kill contaminating bacteria on the containers and covers prior to their being placed on conveyor 18. Of course, it is also contemplated that the containers and covers may be supplied to the apparatus in a sterile condition thereby eliminating the need for sterilization sections 46 and 88.

The sterile food which is supplied through the filling system 82 is placed in the containers in a sterile atmosphere and any air entrapped between the food and the covers on strip 92 during the sealing operation will be sterile, and therefore will not contaminate the food within the container. The heat seal formed at the sealing station between the cover and the container is firmly bonded and made flawless by the cooled platen utilized at the sealing station so that contamination of the food product within the container after removal from enclosure 14 is avoided and the need for re-sterilization of the packed product as required in previously proposed sterile packaging systems is eliminated.

The sterile atmosphere is supplied from system 20 at a pressure which is above the atmospheric pressure surrounding the exterior of enclosure 14. This can be done by suppling the water or air to system 20 under pressure or by increasing the pressure of the sterile atmosphere as it leaves coil 24 by the use of pumps as would occur to those skilled in the art. In either case, this creates a positive pressure within chamber 14 so that any leakage of air which may occur in the walls of housing 12 will be outwardly from chamber 14 so that entrance of contaminating bacteria and the like into the chamber through any openings therein is avoided. This is particularly important at the openings in housing 12 at which the individual containers 48 are supplied to platform 52, at the opening 90 through which the strip fed covers are supplied at section 88 and at the discharge opening 164. Thus, because of the positive pressure within sterile chamber 14, the sterile atmosphere therein escapes through these openings and prevents surrounding air from entering the chamber, thereby maintaining sterile conditions therein. Of course, it is to be understood that these openings are made as small as possible. In addition, it is noted that vent openings 170 may be provided at various points in the system in order to relieve pressure in the sterile chamber 14, so that a constant flow of newly sterilized air or steam will be continuously supplied to the chamber.

Accordingly, it is seen that a relatively simple apparatus is provided for aseptic or sterile packaging of food products or the like in a single enclosure. The apparatus sterilizes the containers and covers immediately prior to the filling operation and, in the preferred embodiment, uses heat sealed covers having no sharp edges thereon.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for aseptically packaging food, drugs and other products comprising, a housing defining an enclosed sterilization chamber, an endless conveyor mounted completely within said housing and having upper and lower flights and means thereon for receiving containers to be filled; a plurality of operating stations located along one of said flights and drive means for sequentially moving said conveyor along said flights between sid operating stations, said housing including a container sterilization section located at a first station therein and container dispenser means mounted in said container sterilization section at said first station for holding containers in said container sterilization section comprising a vertically extending endless conveyor having a downwardly moving flight located above the first mentioned endless conveyor at said first station and a plurality of container support platforms secured thereto and extending horizontally therefrom along said downwardly moving flight, including container supply means mounted on said housing adjacent the upper end of said downwardly moving flight for supplying individual containers to said platforms, and said vertically extending conveyor holding said individual containers in said container sterilization section for said predetermined time as said containers are moved from said container supply means to said first station whereby said containers are sterilized prior to being deposited on said first mentioned conveyor; filling means mounted on said housing at a second station, downstream of said first station in the direction of travel of said conveyor, for filling each container on said conveyor with a sterilized product; said housing also including a cover sterilization section of predetermined length located at a third station therein downstream of said second station; means for sequentially advancing a continuous strip of interconnected die cut covers through said cover sterilization chamber to said third station in timed relation with the arrival of containers at said third station to sequentially position said covers over said containers in registry therewith, means at a fourth station, downwstream of said third station, for securing said covers to said containers as the containers are sequentially moved to said fourth station by said conveyor, means at a fifth station, downstream of said fourth station for moving the covered containers from said conveyor and discharging them from said housing, and means for supplying a sterile atmosphere to said housing at a pressure above atmospheric pressure to maintain said containers and covers in a sterile condition during movement through said operating stations.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for supplying a sterile atmosphere comprises means for supplying dry high-temperature steam to said sterile chamber.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for supplying a sterile atmosphere includes means for maintaining higher temperatures in said container and cover sterilization sections than in the remainder of said housing whereby said containers and covers are sterilized in said sterilization sections prior to placement on said conveyor.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means cooperating with the covers in said strip of covers for individually registering each of said covers with its associated container.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 including means mounted in said housing between said fourth and fifth stations for severing the interconnection between individual covers in said strip of covers, after said covers are secured to the containers.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 including means for sequentially supplying individual containers to said container holding and depositing means.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said means for sequentially advancing said strip of die cut covers includes a reel supporting a roll of said strip of covers, means for guiding said strip along a predetermined path in said cover sterilization chamber from said reel to said third station whereby said covers are maintained in said sterilization chamber for a period of time sufficient to sterilize the covers, and means at said third station for unwinding said strip from the reel, drawing the strip along said predetermined path and sequentially directing each cover as it is advanced to said third station over a container which is sequentially advanced to said third station by said conveyor.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said covers have a heat sealing coating on the side thereof positioned in contact with said containers and said means for securing said covers to said containers comprises heat sealing means for heating and pressing the heat sealing coating on said cover against the adjacent portions of said container.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 including means at said fourth station, immediately downstream of said heat sealing means, for cooling the heat sealed cover and pressing the cover against the container, thereby to maintain the bond formed by said heat sealing means and cool it to its solidification temperature.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said container receiving means on said conveyor has a plurality of apertures therein for receiving and supporting said containers, said conveyor having a discharge end located at said fifth station and said means for removing the covered containers from said conveyor comprising an auxiliary endless conveyor located between the flights of the first mentioned conveyor and having one end located on a common axis of rotation with the discharge end thereof, said auxiliary conveyor having an inclined upper flight portion approaching said first mentioned conveyor at the discharge end thereof and having a plurality of projections thereon for engaging the bottoms of said containers supported in said openings and lifting them therefrom at said discharge end.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 including a pair of fixed support rods mounted in closely spaced relation to each other and having one end thereof located adjacent said discharge end of said first mentioned conveyor for receiving said lifted containers therebetween and guiding them from said discharge end.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said housing has an opening therein through which said rods extend to permit removal of said containers from said housing.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said strip of covers includes an interconnecting portion between each pair of adjacent covers and formed integrally therewith, said interconnecting portion including a flat section and a corrugated section selectively adapted to expand or contract, said flat section having an aperture therein and said means for individually registering said covers with their associated container comprising individual upstanding pins on said endless conveyor respectively adjacent said container receiving means for engagement in said apertures.

14. Apparatus for aseptically packaging food, drugs and other products, comprising, a housing defining an enclosed sterile chamber, an endless conveyor mounted completely within said housing and having an upper flight for transporting containers through said housing; said housing having a container sterilizing section located adjacent one end of said conveyor and a container dispenser means mounted in said section including a vertically extending endless conveyor having a plurality of container support platforms secured thereto for holding containers therein for a predetermined period of time and thereafter depositing the containers on said upper conveyor flight, means in said housing, downstream of said container sterilization section in the direction of travel of said conveyor, for sequentially filling containers on the conveyor with a sterilized product; said housing also including a cover sterilization section having a predetermined length and means mounted in said cover sterilization section for sequentially advancing a continuous strip of interconnected covers through said cover sterilization chamber and for sequentially positioning said covers over said containers in registry therewith downstream of said filling means; means for thereafter securing said covers to said containers, and means for supplying a sterile atmosphere to said enclosed sterile chamber at a pressure above atmospheric pressure to maintain said containers and covers in a sterile condition during the filling and cover securing operations.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 including means downstream of said sealing means for severing the interconnection between individual covers in said strip after said covers are secured to the containers.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 including means downstream of said severing means for removing covered containers from said conveyor and discharging them from said housing.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said means for supplying a sterile atmosphere includes means for maintaining a higher temperature in said container and cover sterilization sections than in the remainder of said sterile chamber whereby said containers and covers are sterilized in said sterilization sections prior to placement on the conveyor.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 17 wherein said covers have a heat sealing coating on the side thereof positioned in contact with said containers and said means for securing said covers to said containers comprises heat sealing means for heating and pressing the heat sealing coating on said cover against the adjacent portions of said container.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 18 including means immediately downstream of said heat sealing means for cooling the heat sealed cover and pressing the cover against the container thereby to maintain the bond formed by said heat sealing means and cool the bond to its solidification temperature.

20. Apparatus as defined in claim 18 wherein said means for supplying a sterile atmosphere comprises means for supplying dry high temperature steam to said sterile chamber.

21. Apparatus for aseptically packaging food, drugs and other products, comprising, a housing defining an enclosed sterile chamber, an endless conveyor mounted completely within said housing and having an upper flight for transporting containers through said housing; means in said housing for depositing individual sterilized containers on said upper conveyor flight, means, downstream of said depositing means in the direction of travel of said conveyor, for sequentially filling containers on the conveyor with a sterile product; transport conveyor means including an endless feed belt for sequentially advancing a continuous strip of interconnected sterile covers into position over the filled containers in registry therewith downstream of said filling means, pin means on said endless conveyor cooperating with the covers in said strip for individually registering each of said covers with its associated container; means for thereafter securing said covers to said containers, and means for supplying a sterile atmosphere to said enclosed sterile chamber at a pressure above atmospheric pressure to maintain said containers and covers in a sterile condition during the filling and cover securing operations.

22. Apparatus as defined in claim 21 wherein said strip of covers includes an interconnecting portion formed between each pair of adjacent covers and formed integrally therewith, said interconnecting portion including a flat section and a corrugated section selectively adapted to expand or contract, said flat section having an aperture therein for engagement with said pin means.

23. A method for aseptically packaging food, drugs and other products comprising: supplying individual containers to an enclosed container sterilization section; holding said containers within said section for a time sufficient to effect sterilization thereof; and thereafter transporting said containers through a plurality of operating stations within a sterilization housing including; filling said containers at a first station in said housing with a sterile product, supplying a continuous strip of interconnected covers to an enclosed cover sterilization section, sterilizing said covers in said sterilization section and, at a second station, positioning said covers over said containers and in registry therewith, securing said covers to said containers at a fourth station and supplying a sterile atmosphere to said housing at a pressure above atmospheric pressure to maintain said containers and covers in a sterile condition during the filling and cover securing operations.

24. The method as defimed in claim 23 including the step of severing the interconnection between individual covers in said strip after said covers are secured to said containers.

25. The method as defined in claim 24 including the step of removing the covered containers from said housing after said severing step.

26. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said covers have a heat sealing coating on the side thereof positioned in contact with said containers and said securing step comprises the step of heat sealing said covers to said containers.

27. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein said container and cover sterilization sections are maintained at a higher temperature than said housing.