Apparatus and method for the hot filling of beverages

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of producing beverage containers ( 10 ) with the steps: producing a plastics material container ( 10 ), wherein the plastics material container ( 10 ) is produced from a plastics material pre-form by means of a shaping device ( 2 ); conveying the container ( 10 ) to a filling device ( 4 ) filling the container ( 10 ) with a liquid and, in particular with a beverage, wherein the liquid is filled into the container ( 10 ) at a temperature which is above 50° C., wherein the container ( 10 ) is sterilized between a separating device arranged upstream of a pre-form inlet of the shaping device ( 2 ) and the filling device ( 4 ).

1 . A method of producing beverage containers with the steps:
 producing a plastics material container, wherein the plastics material container is produced from a plastics material pre-form using a shaping device;   conveying the container to a filling device;   filling the container with a liquid and, in particular with a beverage, wherein the liquid is filled into the container at a temperature which is above 50° C.,   
       wherein 
       the container is sterilized between a separating device for the plastics material pre-forms arranged upstream of a pre-form inlet of the shaping device and the filling device. 
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the container is sterilized in the shaping device. 
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the container is cooled after the filling. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the container is cooled by being acted upon with a flowable medium. 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the container is closed immediately after the filling. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein a closure of the container is likewise sterilized. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the container is conveyed through a sterile environment between the shaping device and the filling device. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus for producing filled containers, with a shaping device which shapes plastics material pre-forms to form plastics material containers, with a conveying device which conveys the plastics material containers away from the shaping device, and with a filling device which is arranged downstream with respect to the shaping device along a conveying path of the plastics material containers and which fills the containers with a liquid, wherein the filling device is designed in such a way that it fills the liquid at a temperature of more than 50° C. into the containers, wherein the apparatus has a sterilization device which is arranged between a separating device arranged upstream of a pre-form inlet of the shaping device and the filling device and which sterilizes the containers. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein the apparatus has a application device which is arranged downstream of the filling device along the conveying path of the containers and which acts upon the filled containers with a flowable medium. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein the apparatus has a cooling device arranged downstream of the filling device for cooling the filled containers. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein a sterile room, through which the container is conveyed, is arranged between the shaping device and the filling device.