Apparatus for the sterile filling of foods into containers

Claim 1

In an apparatus for the sterile packing of foods in cup-shape containers comprising an endless conveyor defining a transport path, a filling station along said path for depositing food in said containers, a lid-applying station downstream of said filling station along said path for applying a lid to each of the filled containers, a sealing station along said path downstream of the lid-applying station sealing the applied lid to each container, said containers after sealing of said lids being ejected from said path, the improvement which comprises: a hood overlying said conveyor and enclosing all of said stations to define a sterile chamber; a magazine along said path for depositing said containers on said conveyor upstream of said filling station; spray means disposed downstream of said magazine along said path and within said chamber for spraying said containers with a sterilizing fluid; and a drying means between said spraying means and said filling station along said path for drying the fluid in said containers, said drying means including means for blowing a gas onto said containers and radiant-heating means confronting said containers on said conveyor, said conveyor being provided with a multiplicity of cells each receiving a respective container, said drying means comprising a heating plate extending longitudinally in the direction of displacement of the conveyor over a plurality of conveyor cells and a plurality of blow nozzles spaced apart in said direction with a distance equal to the spacing of said cells and extending through said plate, said drying means further comprising means for feeding said nozzles with sterile air.