Method and filling system for filling containers
AssigneeKHS GmbH
InventorLudwig Clüsserath
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Using a filling point to fill a container with liquid filling-material fed by a supply line through which filling material at a supply-line pressure is made available for filling the containers includes using a control circuit to regulate flow velocity at which filling material flows into the container by opening a liquid valve, opening a regulating valve upstream of the liquid valve, sensing flow velocity of the filling material, comparing the flow velocity with a target flow velocity, and using the regulating valve to regulate the flow velocity such that the flow velocity is independent of a pressure difference between the supply-line pressure and a filling pressure set in the container.
Claims29
An apparatus for filling containers with a liquid filling material, said apparatus comprising
- a plurality of filling blocks and
- a supply line that provides said liquid filing-material to each of said filling blocks,
- wherein each of said filling blocks in said plurality of filling blocks comprises
- a product channel,
- a filling point,
- a sensor,
- a regulating valve,
- a liquid valve, and
- a governor,
- wherein said sensor comprises a magnetic-inductive flowmeter,
- wherein controlled container-filling takes place at said filling point,
- wherein said product channel is connected to said supply line,
- wherein said regulating valve comprises a controlled throttle that dynamically regulates flow velocity in said product channel to compensate for real-time changes in pressure,
- wherein said liquid valve is downstream from said regulating valve, and
- wherein said governor compensates for pressure fluctuations by receiving, from said sensor, a signal indicative of measured flow velocity and controlling said regulating valve based on a comparison between said measured flow velocity and a target flow velocity, whereby filling material flows into said container through said liquid valve with a flow velocity that is regulated by control of said regulating valve in response to an extent to which said signal provided by said sensor indicates a measured flow velocity that differs from said target flow velocity.
A method comprising using plural filling blocks to fill containers, wherein said filling blocks receive liquid filling-material from a common supply line, wherein each of said filling blocks comprises a product channel that receives filling material from said supply line, a magnetic-inductive flowmeter that provides a signal indicative of measured flow velocity, a regulating valve that comprises a controlled throttle that dynamically regulates flow velocity in said product channel to compensate for real-time changes in pressure, a liquid valve downstream of said regulating valve, and a filling point at which controlled container-filling takes place, wherein said method comprises, at each of said filling blocks,
- opening said filling block's liquid valve,
- opening said filling block's regulating valve concurrently with or after having opened said liquid valve,
- sensing flow velocity of said filling material,
- comparing said sensed flow velocity with a target flow velocity, and
- using said filling block's regulating valve to regulate said sensed flow velocity such that said sensed flow velocity is independent of a pressure difference between a supply-line pressure and a filling pressure in said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.