Apparatus for flushing air from containers

Apparatus for flushing containers with flushing gas comprising:

• conveying means for conveying open top containers past a flushing apparatus positioned above the containers' open tops, said flushing apparatus including flushing gas distributing means for developing and maintaining a substantially uniformly distributed flushing gas layer surrounding the containers' open tops during conveyance of the containers, said distributing means comprising a distribution chamber having a downwardly facing substantially flat bottom with a plurality of substantially uniformly distributed small openings therethrough for developing and maintaining said flushing gas layer, and said plate further containing at least one large opening for establishing jet means to direct at least one high velocity flushing gas jet downwardly through said flushing gas layer into the containers through their open tops, the opening of the jet means being comparatively larger than the opening of said small openings;
• and means to independently adjust the relative stream velocity of the gas passing through the large and small openings.