EP1520833B1 - Filling machine - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a filling machine for containers such as bottles, cans and the like., In particular a filling machine for filling liquids in bottles with arranged on a rotor filling valves and associated lifting devices for lifting the bottles against the outlet openings according to the preamble of claim 1.

In particular, in the filling of standing under bias pressure drinks such as mineral water, beer or other carbonated liquids lifting devices are used, the lifting cylinders are formed with stand or Abstütztellern. Risen on this, the bottles are optionally raised using appropriate centering tulips against the outlet openings of the filling valves and lowered after completion of the filling process, discharged from the filling machine and fed to a closing machine.

Due to the pressurized beverage is to build up a corresponding back pressure in the bottles to be filled to avoid excessive foaming. For this purpose, the bottles before the actual filling process, possibly preconnected by further measures such as pre-evacuation, flushing with a sterilization medium and the like, with the pressure prevailing in the filling machine boiler pressure using the carbon dioxide there or another inert gas biased and acted upon.

Known constructions, such as known from EP-A-0 616 971, have pressing devices which engage the container in a suitable manner - for example with a plate from the bottom of the container, in order to press the container against the filling member as required. The pressing force is applied in the known constructions of pressure piston arrangements, for example, stand under the bottle plate or can be provided in a hanging arrangement on the filling member. Common to the known constructions, the pressurization of the pressure piston assembly with a pressurized gas from a separate source of pressurized gas having an adjustable and during the working stroke constant pressure. The contact pressure is thus constant during the working cycle of the filling element. In the known constructions, the pressure piston assemblies are constantly pressurized, thus acting on the principle of a gas spring. The pressing device is lowered with guide curves o. The like. Against the piston pressure and raised. The contact force is applied by suitable choice of the pressure of the pressure piston arrangements Pressure gas selected from safety arrangements so high that at all to be filled on the system drinks, which may have different Karbonisierungsdrucke, there is always sufficient pressing force to avoid blowing or leakage of gas or liquid at the edge of the container. However, this results in the disadvantage that as a rule the pressing force is too high, ie higher than necessary. However, the height of the contact force influences at various points of the filling device the wear of parts, such as the sealing rings or the elements of the pressing device. A usually too high sealing force is therefore disadvantageous. It is evident that a considerable pressure is exerted on the bottles themselves when pressed against the filling valves. Such a pressure causes on glass bottles no or at least rarely corresponding disadvantages. The situation is different with the plastic bottles used more and more frequently, where the clamping pressure between the filling valves and the base plates causes unacceptable and undesirable casing and contour deformation. To avoid this disadvantage, lifting devices are used, which have arranged on supporting rods gripper or support surfaces for supporting the arranged on plastic bottles or other common containers in the mouth region collar. A filling machine of this type is known from the prior art. The support rods are arranged with the associated support surface as an independent component with a cam roller below the outlet channel of the filling valves.

Based on such a known support rod lifting device, the present invention seeks to propose a simplified structural design, which is practically part of the treatment heads of such a filling machine and include in the treatment process in terms of media management and pressurization.

To solve this problem, the invention provides for a filling machine of the type mentioned above, that the lifting device in the pressing manner movable piston / ZylinderAnordnung is provided above the filling openings in and / or on the filling valve whose cylinder space as a passage or inlet channel for the formed to be filled container and / or discharged from this pressure media such as purge gas, clamping and biasing gas, inert gas, sterilization media is formed.

With such a design an extremely simple, compact and standing with the filling valve in a single function lifting device is shown. In this case, at least all pressurized process steps can be utilized or utilized directly for the direct control of the lifting device.

Further embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

Fig. 1

in schematischer Darstellung und in Draufsicht eine Füllmaschine rotierender Bauart zum Abfüllen eines flüssigen Füllgutes in Flaschen;

Fig. 2

in vereinfachter Darstellung und im Block- bzw. Funktionsdiagramm eine der Füllelemente der Füllmaschine nach Fig. 1, zusammen mit einer zugehörigen Steuerung;

Fig. 3

die erfindungsgemäße Hubeinrichtung an einem Behandlungskopf in Form eines Füllelementes mit anhobener Flasche und

Fig. 4 u. 5

die Hubeinrichtung an einem Füllventil gemäß Fig. 3 in der Vorspann- und Füllphase.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the figures of an embodiment. Show it:

Fig. 1

in a schematic representation and in plan view of a filling machine of rotating design for filling a liquid filling material in bottles;

Fig. 2

in a simplified representation and in the block or functional diagram of one of the filling elements of the filling machine of Figure 1, together with an associated controller.

Fig. 3

the lifting device according to the invention on a treatment head in the form of a filling element with raised bottle and

Fig. 4 u. 5

the lifting device to a filling valve of FIG. 3 in the preload and filling phase.

The present invention will be described with reference to a volumetric filling machine. However, it can also be used on any other filling machine or bottle treating machine.

The filling machine shown in FIG. 1 is one for a counter-pressure filling, for example for filling soft drinks, beer, mineral water u. Like. And consists essentially of a about a vertical machine axis in the direction of the arrow A rotating rotor 1, at the periphery of a plurality of filling points 2 is formed in the representation of FIG. 2 each of a filling element 3 and from a through a Lifting device up and down movable bottle carrier 4 exist. In Fig. 1, all filling points 2 between a bottle inlet and a bottle outlet of the filling machine, each with a plastic bottle (PET bottle) are shown occupied.

The bottles to be filled 5 are supplied to the filling machine via a feed dog 6, brought by means of a Einteilschnecke 7 or otherwise to the required machine spacing and passed over an inlet star 8 each a filling point of the rotor 1. The filled bottles 5 are removed from the filling points on an outlet star 9 and fed, for example, to a capper, not shown.

Each filler has in the usual way, inter alia, in a housing 10 this Filling element formed liquid channel 11, which communicates with its one end via a flow meter 12 or otherwise with a part of the rotor 1 forming ring bowl 13 for the liquid product in combination.

With its other end, the liquid channel 11 forms a provided on the underside of the housing 10 discharge opening through which the liquid contents of the respective bottle 5 then flows when the liquid channel 11 also provided in the liquid valve 14 is opened.

Each filling element 3 further has an actuating device 15 for controlling the liquid valve 14 or for controlling a valve body of this liquid valve. The actuating element 15 is preferably a pneumatic actuating element, which is controlled via an electromagnetic control valve 16 by a control device 17. Furthermore, each filling element 3 has, for example, a filling height-determining probe 18 which is designed, for example, as a conductivity probe and then delivers a probe signal, when filling a bottle 5, the mirror of the contents in the provided on the filling element 3 or there pressed bottle 5 a predetermined Height level has reached, in which the probe 18 is immersed in the liquid medium. The electronic control device 17, which is preferably a microprocessor-based device has in the illustrated embodiment a total of three inputs 19, 20 and 21, of which the input 19 to the signal output of the flow meter 12, the input 20 to the probe 18 and the input 21 at a parent, common to all filling stations of the filling machine electronic control (higher-level processor) is connected, as well as the control means 17 of the remaining filling 2 or filling elements 3. The control device 17 of each filling element 3 further has an output 23, via which each Filling element 3 individually associated control valve 16 is driven.

The operation of the filling machine or each filling station 2 can be described as follows: After the respective bottle 5 has been transferred from the inlet star 8 to a filling station 2, takes place in a predetermined angular range of rotation of the rotor 1 after a bias with its mouth 5 ' tight against the respective filling element 3 adjacent bottle 5 in the filling phase under counter pressure, first a volume filling the bottle 5 with the liquid contents, ie at the beginning of this filling phase, the liquid valve 14 is opened. The volume filling is then terminated by closing the liquid valve 14 when a predetermined volume of the liquid filling material has entered the bottle provided at the respective filling point 2.

The volume charge is controlled based on the flow rate meter 12 supplied signal. This signal consists for example of a pulse train in which the number of pulses per unit time is a measure of the flow or volume of the liquid filling material, which has flowed through the flow meter 12 in the relevant unit of time. If the desired filling volume is reached, the control valve 17 controls the control valve 16 in such a way that thereby the closing of the liquid valve 14 takes place via the actuating element 15.
The desired value for all filling stations 2 or their control devices 17 can be input jointly via the central controller 22, specifically via the signal line 24.

After completion of the volume filling can also be under counterpressure at her mouth 5 'tight against the filling element 3 fitting bottle 5 refilling done by means of the probe, which ensures that the mirror of the liquid contents in the bottle 5 on a same Level is. Otherwise, the usual pressure relief of the respective bottle 5 follows.

The above-described design and operation of a container treatment machine in the form of a filling machine are known in various designs or can be structurally altered in any removable from the prior art solutions.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, 4 and 5, the holding devices according to the invention are designed as the neck collar 25 of a bottle 5 supporting centering and attached to height-adjustable lifting rods 26. The lifting rods 26 are held in guides 27 of the filling element 3 and are urged by means of compression springs 28 with a guide roller 29 against a control cam 30, which causes a downward movement of the lifting elements by the adjacent guide roller 29. In this lower position, as shown in approximately FIG. 3, the bottles 5 are transferred to the centering surfaces. After taking over a supported bottle 5 and leaving the control cam area, the bottles reach the filling opening 31 of the filling element 3 and are tensioned against them only with the contact force of the springs 28. With the beginning of the filling process then begins the actual main pressing. For this purpose, according to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, there is a piston / cylinder arrangement 32 above the filling opening 31 on the filling valve body. It is expedient, as shown, the cylinder chamber 33 formed as part of the filling valve 3 and as a pressure or inlet channel 34, 35 for the bottle to be filled 5 to be supplied and / or discharged from these pressure media, eg. As purge gas, biasing and clamping gas, inert gas, sterilization media and the like. Running. The piston 36 is connected to the Hubrollenlagerung 37 or the carrier 38 and relative to the attached to the rotor Filling elements 3 movable. Due to the automatic admission of the cylinder space 33 with the respective process pressure gas or the like, the optimum contact pressure for the bottle mouth 5 'against the outlet channel or the filling openings is always ensured. In the usual CIP cleaning such filling machines corresponding deflection or rinsing heads can be picked up by the holding devices, wherein the flushing medium or the rinsing pressure for pressing the rinsing heads is used. The piston 36 may also be designed as a correspondingly formed membrane.

Claims (7)

1. Filling machine for containers such as bottles, cans, cartons and the like, more especially a filling machine for filling liquids into bottles, said filling machine having lifting devices that are disposed on a rotor / carousel for raising the containers against the filling openings, wherein the lifting devices comprise lifting rods, which are displaceable from the vertical against spring force and include holding devices, which are disposed in the lower region and are in the form of gripping members, supporting faces and centring faces for the container mouth and/or its neck, characterised in that above the filling openings in and/or at the filling valve (3) there is provided a piston / cylinder arrangement (32) which can displace the lifting device in a pressing manner, the cylinder space (33) of which piston / cylinder arrangement is in the form of a passage or inlet duct (34, 35) for the pressurised media to be supplied to the container (5) to be filled and/or to be discharged from the said container, such as flushing gas, pressurising gas, preliminary pressurising gas, inert gas and sterilising media.
2. Filling machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the cylinder space (33) is disposed in and/or at the filling valve / filling valve body (3) and the piston (36) is connected to the lifting roller bearing arrangement (37) and/or its carrier (38).
3. Filling machine according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the piston (36) is disposed in and/or at the filling valve body (3) and the cylinder housing (33) is connected to the lifting roller bearing arrangement (37) or its carrier (38).
4. Filling machine according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the piston / cylinder arrangement (32) is connected directly to the vertically displaceable lifting rods (26).
5. Filling machine according to the preceding claims, characterised in that a flushing container can be pressed against the lower filling valve region with the gripping members, supporting faces, centring faces or contact faces for the container neck (5').
6. Filling machine according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the supply line for a flushing and/or sterilising medium is connected to or can be connected to the cylinder space.
7. Filling machine according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the piston (36) is in the form of a diaphragm corresponding with the cylinder space (33).

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