Filling system and filling element
AssigneeKHS Maschinen- und Anlagenbau AG
InventorLudwig Clüsserath
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A filling system for filling bottles or similar containers with a liquid product under counter pressure has a plurality of filling elements. Each filling element has a liquid valve for the controlled dispensing of the product as well as a plurality of gas ducts realized in a housing, by means of which ducts at least three separate and individually controlled control valves for each filling element can be controlled so that a wide variety of processes can be conducted for the bottling of the product, and namely merely by varying the actuation of the control valves or by varying a corresponding program for a microprocessor-assisted or computer-assisted control device.
Claims20
A method for filling containers with liquid filling products utilizing a filling machine having a revolving construction with a plurality of filling positions for filling the containers with the filling product on the periphery of a rotor which revolves around a vertical machine axis, each of the filling positions having a filling element and a container carrier, each of the filling elements comprising a plurality of valves and ducts for filling containers with a liquid product, utilizing a filling system to fill containers with a liquid product under counter pressure, wherein, chronologically prior to the actual filling phase, the interior of the container is pre-pressurized with an inert gas under pressure, and during the filling phase, the gas displaced from the container by the incoming product is contained under pressure by a return gas collecting space, and chronologically subsequent to the filling phase, the container is depressurized to atmospheric pressure by means of a depressurization duct, said filling system comprising:
- at least one filling element;
- a liquid duct that is realized in a housing of the filling element, which liquid duct forms a dispensing opening for the product and emerges above a filling tube that projects beyond an underside of the filling element;
- a fluid valve in the liquid duct, which valve opens during the filling phase to fill the respective container fastened with its container mouth to the filling element and closes again at the end of the filling phase;
- a gas duct that, when the container is fastened to the filling element, is in communication with the interior of the container by means of at least one gas duct opening that is offset with respect to the filling tube;
- first, second and third individually controllable control valves to control gas pathways that are realized in the housing, wherein:
- a first control valve is in communication on an input side by means of a first gas pathway with an area of the liquid duct downstream of the liquid valve in the direction of flow of the product, and on an output side with a second gas pathway;
- a second control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with a source for the inert gas under pressure;
- a third control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with the gas duct and with a fourth gas pathway that has at least a first throttle for the depressurization, and is in communication on the output side by means of a fifth gas pathway that has at least one second throttle with the return gas collecting space;
- wherein in a sixth gas pathway that connects the first control valve on the output side with the third control valve on the input side, there is a first check valve that opens in one direction of flow from the third control valve to the first control valve, and closes for a flow in the opposite direction;
- and
- wherein in a gas pathway or bypass parallel to the at least one second throttle or nozzle there is a second check valve that opens in one direction of flow from the return gas collecting space to the third control valve and closes for a flow in the opposite direction;
- and
- said method comprising the steps of:
- determining a desired filling product and container type to be filled;
- feeding the containers into a filling machine;
- moving each container into one of the plurality of filling positions;
- entering data into a control device, the data including at least one of:
- the liquid filling product to be utilized, and
- the type of container being filled, to determine a filling process;
- defining with the filling process the operation of the plurality of valves of at least one of the filling positions to achieve the determined filling process;
- and
- controlling with the control device the operation of the plurality of valves, to fill the containers in accordance with the determined filling process.
A filling system to fill containers with a liquid product under counter pressure, wherein, chronologically prior to the actual filling phase, the interior of the container is pre-pressurized with an inert gas under pressure, and during the filling phase, the gas displaced from the container by the incoming product is contained under pressure by a return gas collecting space, and chronologically subsequent to the filling phase, the container is depressurized to atmospheric pressure by means of a depressurization duct, said filling system comprising:
- at least one filling element;
- a liquid duct that is realized in a housing of the filling element, which liquid duct forms a dispensing opening for the product and emerges above a filling tube that projects beyond an underside of the filling element;
- a fluid valve in the liquid duct, which valve opens during the filling phase to fill the respective container fastened with its container mouth to the filling element and closes again at the end of the filling phase;
- a gas duct that, when the container is fastened to the filling element, is in communication with the interior of the container by means of at least one gas duct opening that is offset with respect to the filling tube;
- first, second and third individually controllable control valves to control gas pathways that are realized in the housing, wherein:
- a first control valve is in communication on an input side by means of a first gas pathway with an area of the liquid duct downstream of the liquid valve in the direction of flow of the product, and on an output side with a second gas pathway,
- a second control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with a source for the inert gas under pressure,
- a third control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with the gas duct and with a fourth gas pathway that has at least a first throttle for the depressurization, and is in communication on the output side by means of a fifth gas pathway that has at least one second throttle with the return gas collecting space;
- wherein in a sixth gas pathway that connects the first control valve on the output side with the third control valve on the input side, there is a first check valve that opens in one direction of flow from the third control valve to the first control valve, and closes for a flow in the opposite direction, and
- wherein in a gas pathway or bypass parallel to the at least one second throttle or nozzle there is a second check valve that opens in one direction of flow from the return gas collecting space to the third control valve and closes for a flow in the opposite direction.
Filling element to fill containers with a liquid product under counter pressure, wherein chronologically prior to the actual filling phase, the interior of the container is pre-pressurized with an inert gas under pressure, and during the filling phase, the gas displaced from the container by the incoming product is contained under pressure by a return gas collecting space, and chronologically subsequent to the filling phase, the container is depressurized to atmospheric pressure by means of a depressurization duct, said filling element comprising:
- at least one filling element;
- a liquid duct realized in a housing of the filling element, which liquid duct forms a dispensing opening for the product and emerges above a filling tube that projects beyond an underside of the filling element;
- with a liquid valve in the liquid duct which opens in the filling phase to fill the respective container placed with a container mouth on the filling element and closes again at the end of the filling phase;
- with a gas duct that, when the container is fastened to the filling element, is in communication with the interior of the container by means of at least one gas duct opening that is offset with respect to the filling tube;
- with first, second and third individually controllable control valves to control gas pathways that are realized in the housing, wherein a first control valve is in communication on an input side by means of a first gas pathway with an area of the liquid duct downstream of the liquid valve in the direction of flow of the product, and on an output side with a second gas pathway,
- a second control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with a source for the inert gas under pressure,
- a third control valve is in communication on the input side by means of a third gas pathway with the gas duct and with a fourth gas pathway that has at least a first throttle for the depressurization, and is in communication on the output side by means of a fifth gas pathway that has at least one second throttle with the return gas collecting space;
- wherein in a sixth gas pathway which connects the first control valve on the output side with the third control valve there is a first check valve which opens in a direction of flow from the third control valve to the first control valve, and closes for a flow in the opposite direction, and
- wherein in a gas pathway or bypass parallel to the at least one second throttle or nozzle there is a second check valve, which opens in a direction of flow from the return gas collecting chamber to the third control valve, and closes for a flow in the opposite direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.