Liquid filling machine
OwnerAlbert M. Browninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid filling machine suitable for filling a container, for example with wine, wherein a closure grips the dispensing closure of the container from an intermediate level, lifts it from the container, moves it to one side and at the same time moves the filling head over the now open mouth of the container, lowers the filling head into the container, charges the container with liquid, raises again to the upper level and indexes back to again position the closure above the container, drive the closure back into the container down to the lower level wherein the closure is permanently retained and releases the closure.
Claims11
A liquid filling machine which is useful for filling, with liquid, a container of the type which has a dispensing closure axially movable into or out of a flanged sleeve, comprising:
- a frame;
- sleeve retaining means for releasably retaining said flanged sleeve;
- a head assembly comprising closure grip means and a filling head, cooperable guide means respectively on the frame and head assembly for guiding the head assembly for planar movement in a horizontal plane and linear movement in a vertical direction at right angles thereto, and limit means for limiting the linear movement to movement between three levels, respectively a lower level, an intermediate level and an upper level;
- slave power means operably coupled between the frame and head assembly for effecting said movements and also to effect said filling of the container;
- and master control means coupled to said slave power means for effecting said head linear movement so as lift said dispensing closure from said flanged sleeve between said intermediate level and said upper level, thereafter effecting said planar movement of said head assembly to remove said dispensing closure from the locality of said flanged sleeve and position said filling head over said sleeve, thereafter causing the filling of the container with said filling head and thereafter effecting said planar movement in reverse and then a downward linear movement to the lower level so as to reinsert said dispensing closure into said flanged sleeve.
A method of filling, with liquid, a container of the type which has a dispensing closure axially movable into or out of a flanged sleeve, comprising:
- locating the sleeve on sleeve retaining means so as to releasably retain the sleeve in a position fixed relative to a frame of a liquid filling machine,
- lowering closure grip means of a head assembly of said machine from an upper level to an intermediate level over said closure and gripping said closure with said grip means,
- raising said closure grip means vertically to said upper level to remove said closure from said flanged sleeve, moving said closure grip means in a horizontal plane away from alignment with said flanged sleeve and at the same time bringing a filling head into alignment therewith,
- lowering said head assembly to said intermediate level and thereby bringing said filler head into sealable engagement with an upper surface of said flanged sleeve,
- evacuating air from said container through said filler head, and filling the container with liquid,
- lifting said head assembly back to its upper level and returning said closure grip means to vertical alignment with said flanged sleeve, and
- lowering said head assembly to a lower level to reinsert said closure into said flanged sleeve, releasing said closure grip means from said closure, raising said filler head to its upper level, and removing the filled container from said sleeve retaining means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.