Fill system including a fill valve housing with interchangeable sanitary cover and clean-in-place manifold

Abstract

A filling system is set forth that assists in providing fast and simple configuration of a fill system of a packaging machine between its configuration during a production cycle of the machine and its configuration during a clean-in-place cycle of the machine. The filling system comprises a valve housing having a flow channel, an inlet to the flow channel, and an outlet from the flow channel. The valve housing has a flange extending therefrom about at least a portion of the periphery of the valve housing. A valve member is disposed in the valve housing for controlling fluid flow from the outlet of the valve housing. A clean-in-place manifold is also provided for use during a clean-in-place operation of the packaging machine. The clean-in-place manifold has an inlet and an outlet and a flange disposed about at least a portion of the periphery of the inlet of the manifold. A sanitary cover is provided for use during a production cycle of the machine. The sanitary cover comprises a shield portion and a securement portion. The securement portion comprises a collar extending from the shield portion and a flange disposed about at least a portion of the periphery of the collar. A tri-clamp is also provided and has a groove disposed therein for alternately securing the flange of the clean-in-place manifold to the flange of the valve housing and the flange of the sanitary cover to the flange of the valve housing.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.