Method and apparatus for sterilizing bottle

Abstract

A step of letting a preform made of resin adsorb a sterilizer, a step of sterilizing the preform by heating the preform having adsorbed the sterilizer to a temperature suitable for a blow-molding treatment to activate the sterilizer adsorbed by the preform and a step of shaping the preform into a bottle by blowing aseptic air into the preform in a mold are performed sequentially. According to the above-mentioned steps, the sterilizer does not enter a blow-molding machine.

1 . An apparatus for sterilizing a bottle, comprising:
 a transfer unit that transfers a preform having adsorbed a sterilizer or a bottle from a supplying stage of the preform to a molding stage of the bottle;   a heating furnace that heats the preform to a temperature for a blow-molding treatment to activate the sterilizer adsorbed by the preform, thereby sterilizing the preform; and   a mold that blow-molds the preform into the bottle by air,   wherein the heating furnace and the mold are arranged in series from an upstream side toward a downstream side of the transfer unit.   
     
     
         2 . The bottle sterilizing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an evaporator that gasify the sterilizer atomized by a spray nozzle, a sterilizer supplying nozzle that discharges the gas produced by the evaporator toward the preform, and an air nozzle that blasts air to the preform with the sterilizer discharged from the sterilizer supplying nozzle adhering thereto to remove an excess of the sterilizer from the preform and let the preform adsorb the sterilizer are arranged in the transfer unit. 
     
     
         3 . The bottle sterilizing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the sterilizer is a solution including at least 1% by mass of hydrogen peroxide component. 
     
     
         4 . The bottle sterilizing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an umbrella-shaped member that covers above a mouth portion of the preform is provided within the heating furnace. 
     
     
         5 . The bottle sterilizing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a cover is arranged on a way of a bottle traveling path along which the preform travels from the heating furnace to the mold, and an aseptic air is blasted from the cover side toward the mouth portion of the preform. 
     
     
         6 . The bottle sterilizing apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the sterilizer is a solution including at least 1% by mass of hydrogen peroxide component.