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US 9,809,436 B2Granted
Filling system and method for the treatment of containers with a process gas
AssigneeKHS GmbH
InventorLudwig Clüsserath
Life of this patent
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AssigneeKHS GmbH
InventorLudwig Clüsserath
Estimating the term…
A filling element includes an actuator, a liquid valve, and a gas tube on a plunger that extends into a container. The plunger and the gas tube define a first gas-duct that extends through the plunger and the gas tube. The first gas-duct has ends that extend respectively into a gas-space of a product vessel and the container's interior. A first gas-valve along the first gas-duct has a gas-valve body that interacts with a valve seat in the first gas-duct. The gas-valve body has a second gas-duct formed therethrough. This second gas-duct at least temporarily engages the first gas-duct in a fluid-tight manner. The gas-valve body has a valve face and a valve opening that cooperate to form a second gas-valve through which, when the second gas-valve opens, gas flows through the first and second gas-ducts and enters the container.
An apparatus for filling containers with liquid product, said apparatus comprising a product vessel and a filling element arranged below said product vessel, wherein said filling element comprises a filling-element housing, a dispensing opening, an actuator, a liquid valve, a liquid duct, a valve plunger, a liquid valve body, a gas tube, a first gas-duct, a first gas-valve, a second gas-valve, a gas-valve body, a valve seat, a second gas-duct, a valve face, and a valve opening, wherein in operation, liquid product partially fills said product vessel, thus defining a liquid space occupied by said filling product and a first gas-space above said liquid space, wherein said filling-element housing comprises said liquid duct formed therein, said liquid duct connecting to said liquid space, wherein said dispensing opening is disposed on an underside of said filling-element housing, said underside facing away from said product vessel, wherein said liquid valve comprising said valve plunger and a liquid valve body, wherein said valve plunger is aligned coaxially with a filling-element axis, wherein said liquid-valve body is provided on said valve plunger, wherein said liquid-valve body is movable along said filling-element axis to open and close said liquid valve, wherein said gas tube is provided on said valve plunger, wherein said gas tube, in operation, extends into a head space of a container that is arranged to be filled at said filling element, wherein said valve plunger and said gas tube cooperate to define said first gas-duct, wherein said first gas-duct extends through said valve plunger and through said gas tube, wherein said first gas-duct has an upper end that extends into said first gas-space of said product vessel and a lower end that opens into an interior of said container, wherein said first gas-valve is disposed along said first gas-duct, wherein said first gas-valve comprises said gas-valve body, wherein said gas-valve body interacts with said valve seat, wherein said valve seat is configured in said first gas-duct, wherein said first gas-valve transitions between an open and closed state in response to said actuator, wherein said second gas-duct is formed through said gas-valve body, wherein said second gas-duct is configured to at least temporarily engage said first gas-duct in a fluid-tight manner, and wherein said gas-valve body comprises said valve face and said valve opening, wherein said valve face and said valve opening cooperate to form said second gas-valve, and wherein, when said second gas-valve opens, a flow of gas through said first and second gas-ducts enters said container.
A method for treating a container with a gas prior to filling said container using a filling element against which said container is sealed during treatment, through which gas is introduced into said container, and through which gas displaced from said container passes through, said filling element comprising a first gas-duct that opens, at an upper end thereof, into a gas-space of a product vessel and that opens, at a lower end thereof, into a head space of said container, said first gas-duct having a gas-valve body that is movable to open and close a first gas-valve and in which a second gas-duct is configured, said second gas-duct being connected at least temporarily with said first gas-duct in a fluid-tight manner, said method comprising before pre-tensioning said container with a first process gas stored in said gas space, evacuating said container with a vacuum provided by a vacuum source, opening a first gas-valve to pre-tension said container with said first process gas, said first process gas flowing at a pre-tensioning volumetric flow rate, and with said container still connected to said vacuum source, opening a second gas-valve to introduce a second process gas for purging said container through said second gas-duct, said second process gas flowing at a purging volumetric flow rate, wherein said purging volumetric flow rate is less than said pre-tensioning volumetric flow rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.