Claims
- 1. A method of pre-sterilizing a tubular bag packing machine wherein, in permanent operation, at least one tubular strip is formed from a web of packing material supplied in timed sequence from a magazine roll, the said tubular strip moving past a sterilizing means, and wherein the said tubular strip underneath a forming and filling station is cross-sealed, filled via a loading material meter through a forming and filling pipe of the forming and filling station, withdrawn by a bag length and again cross-sealed and filled, the advance of the web of packing material taking place behind the magazine roll within a pre-sterilized sterile chamber under excess pressure of sterile air, and the pre-sterilization being carried out in the following steps:sterilizing the loading material meter by means of saturated steam; upon completion of the sterilization, supplying sterile air to the meter and into the sterile chamber, and maintaining the sterile air supply during the subsequent steps; withdrawing the web of packing material from the magazine roll through the sterile chamber, partially kept open for the withdrawal of the web while forming a tube down to underneath the forming station; closing the sterile chamber and supplying a mixture of sterile agent and steam to the sterile chamber, the tube of packing material being kept open or being opened at the bottom; upon completion of the sterilization by the mixture of sterile agent and steam, the sterile chamber and all elements contained therein are dried by the flow of air maintained sterile; upon completion of the drying process, the supply of sterile air to the meter is discontinued, yet maintained to the sterile chamber; and subsequently, the tube end formed by cross sealing and withdrawn by a bag length is filled via the meter.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sterile air is blown into the sterile chamber at an increased temperature for drying the sterile chamber and all elements contained therein.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tubular strip formed from the web of packing material, relative to the outer diameter of the forming and filing pipe, is slightly over-dimensioned.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of tubular strips are formed from the web into empty bags by cross-sealing, and the tubular strip just above the last-applied cross-sealing is opened.
- 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the meter is purified with a cleansing fluid to remove contaminants, and the cleansing fluid mixed with the contaminants as well as the sterilizing steam are separately discharged through a collector at the end of the forming and filling pipe.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of PCT/DE01/04202 filed on 7 Nov. 2001. Applicant also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §365 of PCT/DE01/04202 filed on 7 Nov. 2001. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/DE01/04202 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO03/03996 |
5/15/2003 |
WO |
A |
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Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
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19510555 |
Feb 1996 |
DE |
19910485 |
Sep 2000 |
DE |
0232943 |
Oct 2000 |
EP |
832595 |
Apr 1960 |
GB |
01267132 |
Oct 1989 |
JP |