EP3645447B1 - Device for the treatment of a container in a product filling system - Google Patents

Description

technical field

The present invention relates to a device for treating a container in a filling product bottling plant, preferably for filling a container with a filling product and/or for closing a container filled with a filling product with a container closure in a beverage bottling plant.

Technical background

In beverage bottling plants it is known to first fill the containers to be filled with the filling product in a filling carousel on which a large number of filling elements are arranged. The containers filled with the filling product are then transported in the open state to a closing carousel, for example with the interposition of at least one transport star wheel, and closed with a container closure on the closing carousel by means of closing elements arranged there.

At high system outputs and with increasing fill levels within the containers, the filled but not yet sealed containers can spill over from the filler carousel to the closer carousel, which can lead to soiling of the system and the outer areas of the containers and can result in uncontrolled filling quantities in the containers that are then ultimately closed.

In the EP 965 524 A1 a filling device is proposed in which an individual container to be filled is accommodated in a treatment chamber that is sealed pressure-tight from the environment, is filled with the filling product in this treatment chamber by means of a filling member and is provided with a container closure after filling. In this way, at least those with the transfer of a filled, but not yet sealed container from a filler carousel to a capper carousel associated disadvantages can be overcome.

The one in the EP 0 965 524 A1 However, due to the large stroke of the sleeve of the treatment chamber in the area of the bottle feed and bottle discharge, the proposed embodiment requires a large installation space, so that the treatment angle available for the actual treatment is reduced.

From the DE 41 26 136 A a filling element is known in which a treatment chamber is provided, into which the container to be treated is lifted from below via a bottle plate with a large lift.

From the DE 195 38 023 A1 a device for filling a bottle with a carbonated beverage and for closing the bottle is known, in which a treatment space is sealed off from the environment by a bottle pushed into an annular seal from below.

The DE 10 2014 104 873 A1 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1 and describes a device for filling a container with a filling product, which has a closing head with two closing head jaws which can be opened and closed.

Presentation of the invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to specify an improved device for filling a container with a filling product and/or for closing the filled container with a container closure in a filling product bottling plant.

This object is achieved by a device for filling a container with a filling product and/or for closing the filled container with a container closure in a filling product bottling plant with the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments result from the dependent claims, the present description and the figures.

Accordingly, a device is proposed for treating a container in a filling product filling system, for filling a container with a filling product and/or for closing the filled container with a container closure, the device having a treatment chamber for at least partially accommodating one container to be treated and at least one those received in the treatment chamber Container-acting treatment member includes. According to the invention, the treatment chamber has a first chamber part and a second chamber part, the second chamber part being pivotable about a pivot axis relative to the first chamber part in order to open and close the treatment chamber. The pivot axis about which the second chamber part is pivoted relative to the first chamber part is aligned horizontally and is arranged in the lower area of the treatment chamber. This is based on an alignment of the treatment chamber in which the container to be treated is aligned with its container mouth pointing upwards.

Because the treatment chamber has a second chamber part that can be pivoted relative to a first chamber part, the first and second chamber parts being pivotable relative to one another to open and close the treatment chamber, the device can be constructed more compactly and efficiently overall.

In particular, this design makes it possible to reduce the overall height of the device for treating a container compared to the devices known from the prior art and in particular the stroke and the installation space required to carry it out, which is required to open and close the treatment chamber close to insert a container to be filled or to remove a filled and closed container from the treatment chamber.

This means that upstream and/or downstream transport devices do not require any special construction. In other words, conventional transport devices, such as transport stars or other conveyors, which are provided for feeding in the containers to be treated and for removing the treated containers, can be used, so that the filling product filling system as a whole is very efficient and without the need to redesign the other aggregates of the filling product filling system can be built.

Accordingly, it is possible to simply combine the other units that are provided for transporting the containers to be treated or the containers that have been treated in a filling product filling plant, and in particular an upstream feed starwheel for feeding in containers to be treated and/or a downstream discharge starwheel for discharging the treated containers connect to the proposed device.

This also makes it possible to transfer the containers to be treated to the device earlier and to remove the treated containers later, so that the available treatment angle within which a treatment of the respective container to be treated is carried out can be increased, so that the system can be made more compact for a given throughput or can achieve a higher throughput for a given system size.

The required closing or opening time of the treatment chamber can also be reduced by the pivotable arrangement of the second chamber part in relation to the first chamber part compared to the designs known from the prior art, in which either a sleeve has to be raised or lowered over a long stroke, or in which the container itself is used to seal the respective treatment chamber and must accordingly be raised or lowered over a wide stroke. In the proposed device, on the other hand, the container does not have to be raised or lowered, but can remain at its infeed or outfeed level. This is particularly advantageous when the containers to be treated are conveyed at a constant level in the rest of the filling product bottling plant, for example when the containers to be treated are held below a neck ring (so-called neck handling).

The treatment chamber and thus the first chamber part and second chamber part forming the treatment chamber can be dimensioned in such a way that the container to be treated can be completely accommodated in the treatment chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the treatment chamber is dimensioned in such a way that the largest container to be treated with the device can be completely accommodated in the treatment chamber. Accordingly, smaller containers to be treated with the device can also be accommodated completely in the treatment chamber.

In an alternative embodiment, the treatment chamber can be dimensioned in such a way that only part of the container to be treated can be accommodated in the container chamber. For example, the treatment chamber can accommodate the mouth area of the container and seal it off from the environment. This results in a situation in which part of the container to be treated is accommodated in the treatment chamber, but another part of the container is then arranged outside the treatment chamber. The container interior is preferably in fluid communication with the Treatment chamber, so that the treatment of the container interior can be carried out from the treatment chamber.

The first chamber part and the second chamber part are preferably geometrically divided in such a way that the treatment chamber opening released by pivoting the second chamber part results in the easiest possible access for the containers and the transport devices into the treatment chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the first chamber part and the second chamber part each essentially form one half of the treatment chamber.

The pivot axis is particularly preferably also aligned perpendicularly to the radius of a treatment carousel, on the circumference of which the device is arranged. This results in the second chamber part being able to pivot outwards in order to open the treatment chamber. If the pivot axis is arranged in the lower region of the treatment chamber and perpendicular to the radius, the second chamber part also pivots downward and radially outward. The installation space under the treatment chamber is therefore not required to allow the treatment chamber to be opened, resulting in a more compact and efficient structure.

Furthermore, when the second chamber part is pivoted outwards, there is unhindered access to the treatment chamber, so that the feeding in of containers to be treated and the discharge of treated containers is essentially unhindered and, for example, by a tangential container guide and/or the guiding of the containers by means of a transport star can be achieved.

The second chamber part can preferably be pivoted relative to the first chamber part by means of a pivot drive, with the pivot drive particularly preferably having an actuator for actively pivoting the second chamber part relative to the first chamber part and/or a roller guide with a guide roller which is guided on a roller guide. The actuator particularly preferably presses the guide roller onto the roller guide, with the actuator preferably being a pneumatic cylinder which is particularly preferably permanently supplied with compressed air from a ring line.

By providing the swivel drive, active actuation of the opening and closing of the treatment chamber can be achieved in order to achieve a particularly efficient to achieve process control. In an embodiment in which the treatment chamber is opened and closed via the actuator, a roller guide is preferably also provided in order to serve as an emergency guide if the actuator fails, so that collisions between system parts can be avoided.

By using a roller guide for opening and closing, a particularly simple system structure can be achieved in which individual control of actuators is not necessary. Pressing the roller against the roller guide by means of the actuator, preferably by means of an actuator in the form of a pneumatic cylinder permanently prestressed in the pressing direction, results in actuation of the opening and closing of the treatment chamber that is easy to achieve in terms of control technology.

In a preferred development, the first chamber part can be sealed off from the second chamber part via a switchable seal.

By using a switchable seal, the closing forces that have to be applied to close the treatment chamber can be kept small and a pressure-tight and gas-tight seal of the treatment chamber can still be achieved by switching the switchable seal in the closed state of the treatment chamber. In this way, the structure of, for example, a swivel drive can be kept simple and the sealing takes place only after the actual closing of the treatment chamber. Accordingly, the swivel drive does not have to compress a seal to seal off the treatment chamber, but only has to move the dead weight of the second chamber part from the open position to the closed position.

The switchable seal particularly preferably has a safety device which prevents the switchable seal from switching when the treatment chamber is open and preferably comprises a pressure medium supply which is interrupted when the treatment chamber is open. In this way it can be avoided that the switchable seal is damaged by erroneous actuation of the switchable seal when the treatment chamber is open, for example by the respective sealing element being pushed out of its sealing groove because the respective opposite sealing surface is missing.

A seal is preferably provided on the first and/or the second chamber part for gas-tight sealing of the treatment chamber from the environment in its closed state. The seal is preferably one that can be moved or expanded by being acted upon by a pressure medium. By providing this switchable seal, it can accordingly be achieved that rapid opening and closing of the treatment chamber is made possible, since the two chamber parts can initially rest against one another without overcoming the resistance that the deformation of a seal would entail must. Accordingly, the two chamber parts can be quickly placed against one another and locked together, and only then is the switchable seal switched while the two chamber halves are already locked together or are in the locking position. Accordingly, the actuating device for pivoting the first chamber part relative to the second chamber part can also be designed with small dimensions, so that both installation space and energy during operation can be saved here.

A safety device is particularly preferably provided which only allows the switchable seal to be switched when the first chamber part and the second chamber part are in the closed position. For this purpose, for example, a valve is provided such that the possibility of pressurizing the switchable seal with a pressure medium is only made possible when the first chamber part is in a predetermined relative position to the second chamber part. Alternatively or additionally, the safety device can also be set up in such a way that the switchable seal can only be acted upon by the switching medium when the first chamber part is locked with the second chamber part in the closed position.

In a further preferred development, a mouth seal is provided, by means of which a container mouth of the container to be treated can be sealed off from the treatment chamber, the mouth seal preferably being a switchable seal.

By providing the mouth seal, further treatment steps can be made possible on the container. For example, by sealing the container mouth from the treatment chamber, a different atmosphere or different pressure can be provided inside the container to be treated than on the outside of the container. Furthermore, different zones can be provided and, for example, a different atmosphere or a different pressure can be provided in the mouth area of the container than in the area of the container body.

By means of the mouth seal, an embodiment of the device can be provided in which the container to be treated is not completely received in the treatment chamber, but the treatment chamber is sealed with the mouth area of the container.

In an alternative, however, the mouth seal can also be provided inside the treatment chamber, so that the container can be accommodated completely inside the treatment chamber despite the sealing by means of the mouth seal.

Thus, for example, a negative pressure can be provided on the outside of the container body and a CO ₂ atmosphere in the mouth area, for example in the case of a thin-walled container, to enable the container to be closed with a container closure under a CO ₂ atmosphere when the container is fully expanded.

By providing the mouth seal as a switchable seal, the closing of the treatment chamber and/or the enclosing of the container mouth can first be achieved with a low actuation force and only then can a complete seal be achieved by switching the seal. Furthermore, by providing a switchable seal, sealing of container mouths of different diameters or greater manufacturing tolerances can be achieved without particularly high closing forces being necessary.

Most preferably, the orifice seal comprises an orifice seal element which has a varying cross-section and preferably a lip by means of which it can be applied to an opposing sealing surface. In this way, even with tolerance-related or production-related fluctuations in the diameter or cross-section of the container mouth, a seal can be achieved which can also be achieved in particular between the mouth sealing element and the opposite sealing surface.

A safety device is preferably also provided with this mouth seal for sealing the container mouth in such a way that the switchable seal can only be switched when the treatment chamber is closed and according to the first chamber part is arranged in a predetermined closed position relative to the second chamber part. Here again it is important that the closing force for closing the chamber and for accommodating the mouth area of the container to be filled can be reduced by using the switchable seal.

Furthermore, the safety device ensures that unintentional switching, for example due to an incorrect switching command or another system malfunction, the unintentional expulsion of the sealing element of the switchable seal from its respective receptacle or sealing groove by the pressure medium being applied, without the corresponding opposite sealing surface is present is avoided. Accordingly, the operation of the device can be designed to be particularly safe and a malfunction of the switchable seal or even the switchable seal being unthreaded from its respective receiving groove can be avoided.

A locking device for locking the treatment chamber is preferably provided, which can be controlled via a cam and which can be positively locked to lock the treatment chamber.

The locking device allows the treatment chamber to be kept locked during the treatment of the respective container and any pressures and forces which are caused, for example, by the treatment chamber being subjected to gas or compressed air, can be intercepted by the locking device.

In order to be able to use the treatment chamber to treat containers of different volumes and thereby achieve efficient use of compressed gases, a volume reduction device is preferably provided for reducing the volume of the treatment chamber, which preferably has a volume reduction element with a first part arranged on the first chamber part and a first part on the second chamber part arranged second part comprises. The volume of the treatment chamber can thus be adapted to the respective container size and the consumption of gases and compressed air can be reduced accordingly.

In order to achieve efficient cleaning of the treatment chamber, a cleaning channel extends from the first chamber part into the second chamber part and from there into the treatment chamber and preferably opens into the lower part of the treatment chamber.

The treatment element acting on the container in the treatment chamber is preferably designed as a filling element for filling a container accommodated in the treatment chamber with a filling product and/or as a closing element for closing a container accommodated in the treatment chamber and filled with a filling product, with preferably a filling element and a closing element are arranged in the treatment chamber and each act on the container in succession.

This results in a particularly efficient treatment of the containers, so that after the container has been received in the treatment chamber, the container can first be filled and then the container can be closed.

The treatment of the container carried out in the treatment chamber can - in addition to the just mentioned treatment steps of filling and/or closing - also include further or alternative treatment steps such as cleaning the container with a cleaning medium, rinsing the container with a rinsing medium, disinfecting the container with a disinfecting medium, subjecting the container to a defined gas to form a defined atmosphere inside the container, or flushing the container with a flushing gas. However, the treatment of the container in the treatment chamber is not limited to the treatment methods and treatment steps mentioned here.

Preferably, a plurality of the devices described above are arranged around the periphery of a treatment carousel of a filling product bottling plant in order to enable a continuous treatment of a stream of containers.

Brief description of the figures

Figur 1

eine schematische, perspektivische Darstellung einer Vorrichtung zum Behandeln eines Behälters in einer Füllproduktabfüllanlage, wobei eine geschlossene Behandlungskammer zur Aufnahme des jeweils zu behandelnden Behälters gezeigt ist;

Figur 2

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung durch die geschlossene Behandlungskammer der Figur 1, wobei sich ein erster Kammerteil und ein zweiter Kammerteil in einer gegeneinander verschlossenen Stellung befinden;

Figur 3

eine schematische, perspektivische Darstellung der Behandlungskammer der Figuren 1 und 2, wobei die Behandlungskammer geöffnet ist und der zweite Kammerteil gegenüber dem ersten Kammerteil in eine Öffnungsposition verschwenkt ist;

Figur 4

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung der geöffneten Behandlungskammer aus Figur 3;

Figur 5

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung einer Behandlungskammer in einer weiteren Ausführung mit an der Behandlungskammer angeordnetem Füllorgan zum Befüllen eines in der Behandlungskammer aufgenommenen, zu befüllenden Behälters mit einem Füllprodukt sowie einem Verschließorgan zum nachfolgenden Verschließen des in der Behandlungskammer aufgenommenen und mit dem Füllprodukt befüllten Behälters mit einem Behälterverschluss;

Figur 6

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung eines Details, in welchem die Verriegelung der Behandlungskammer in einer Ausführungsform gezeigt wird;

Figur 7

eine schematische Draufsicht auf die Verriegelung der Behandlungskammer gemäß Figur 6 in einer geöffneten Position;

Figur 8

eine Draufsicht auf die Verriegelung der Behandlungskammer aus Figuren 6 und 7 in einer verriegelten Position;

Figur 9

eine schematische, perspektivische Teilansicht eines unteren Bereichs der Behandlungskammer, in welcher eine Dichtungsnut und ein Reinigungskanal gezeigt sind;

Figur 10

der aus Figur 9 gezeigte Teilabschnitt der Vorrichtung unter einem anderen Betrachtungswinkel;

Figur 11

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung durch eine im Randbereich des ersten Kammerteils angeordnete Dichtungsnut mit einer geschalteten Dichtung zur Abdichtung des ersten Kammerteils gegenüber dem zweiten Kammerteil;

Figur 12

eine schematische Darstellung der Schaltung einer schaltbaren Dichtung in zwei unterschiedlichen Schaltzuständen;

Figur 13

schematische Schnittdarstellungen weiterer mögliche Dichtungsprofile der schaltbaren Dichtung;

Figur 14

eine schematische Darstellung einer Sicherheitsschaltung für eine schaltbare Dichtung zwischen dem ersten und dem zweiten Kammerteil;

Figur 15

eine schematische Darstellung einer schaltbaren Dichtung zwischen dem ersten und dem zweiten Kammerteil sowie eine schaltbare Mündungsdichtung zur Abdichtung der Behandlungskammer gegenüber einer Behältermündung;

Figur 16

eine schematische Draufsicht auf eine schaltbare Mündungsdichtung zur Abdichtung des Mündungsbereichs eines zu befüllenden Behälters;

Figur 17

eine schematische Teildarstellung der Mündungsdichtung aus Figur 16;

Figur 18

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung einer Behandlungskammer mit einer Volumenreduzierungsvorrichtung zur Reduzierung des Volumens der Behandlungskammer zur Verwendung der Behandlungskammer mit unterschiedlichen Behältergrößen; und

Figur 19

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung durch einen Teilbereich der Vorrichtung, in welchem der Übergang einer Reinigungsbohrung in den unteren Bereich der Behandlungskammer gezeigt ist.

Preferred further embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. show:

figure 1

a schematic, perspective view of a device for treating a container in a filling product bottling plant, wherein a closed treatment chamber for receiving the respective container to be treated is shown;

figure 2

a schematic sectional view through the closed treatment chamber figure 1 wherein a first chamber part and a second chamber part are in a mutually closed position;

figure 3

a schematic perspective view of the treatment chamber of FIG figures 1 and 2 wherein the treatment chamber is open and the second chamber part is pivoted relative to the first chamber part into an open position;

figure 4

a schematic sectional view of the open treatment chamber figure 3 ;

figure 5

a schematic sectional view of a treatment chamber in a further embodiment with a filling element arranged on the treatment chamber for filling a container to be filled in the treatment chamber with a filling product and a closing element for subsequently closing the container in the treatment chamber and filled with the filling product with a container closure;

figure 6

a schematic sectional view of a detail showing the locking of the treatment chamber in one embodiment;

figure 7

a schematic plan view of the locking of the treatment chamber according to FIG figure 6 in an open position;

figure 8

Figure 12 shows a top view of the treatment chamber latch Figures 6 and 7 in a locked position;

figure 9

a schematic perspective partial view of a lower portion of the treatment chamber, in which a sealing groove and a cleaning channel are shown;

figure 10

the one from figure 9 shown section of the device from a different viewing angle;

figure 11

a schematic sectional view through a sealing groove arranged in the edge region of the first chamber part with a switched seal for sealing the first chamber part relative to the second chamber part;

figure 12

a schematic representation of the circuit of a switchable seal in two different switching states;

figure 13

schematic sectional views of other possible sealing profiles of the switchable seal;

figure 14

a schematic representation of a safety circuit for a switchable seal between the first and the second chamber part;

figure 15

a schematic representation of a switchable seal between the first and the second chamber part and a switchable mouth seal for sealing the treatment chamber from a container mouth;

figure 16

a schematic plan view of a switchable mouth seal for sealing the mouth area of a container to be filled;

figure 17

a schematic partial representation of the mouth seal figure 16 ;

figure 18

a schematic sectional view of a treatment chamber with a volume reduction device for reducing the volume of the treatment chamber for use of the treatment chamber with different container sizes; and

figure 19

a schematic sectional view through a portion of the device, in which the transition of a cleaning hole is shown in the lower area of the treatment chamber.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Preferred exemplary embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. Elements that are the same, similar or have the same effect are provided with identical reference symbols in the different figures, and a repeated description of these elements is sometimes dispensed with in order to avoid redundancies.

In the figures 1 and 2 a treatment chamber 1 of a device 100 for treating a container in a filling product bottling plant is shown schematically. In the treatment chamber 1 of the device 100, a filling of a container to be filled with a filling product and/or a closing of the filled container with a container closure can be carried out as a treatment. In the embodiment variant shown, it is provided that the container accommodated in the treatment chamber 1 is first filled with a filling product and then the container filled with the filling product is provided with a container closure without the container being removed from the treatment chamber 1.

In other words, the container is filled with the filling product and the filled container is closed in succession in the treatment chamber 1 . In a variant, however, the container in the treatment chamber 1 can only be filled or closed.

The treatment chamber 1 has a first chamber part 10 and a second chamber part 12 . The second chamber part 12 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 14 relative to the first chamber part 10 in order to open and close the treatment chamber 1 . In the Figures 3 and 4 the treatment chamber 1 is correspondingly shown in an open position, in which the second chamber part 12 is pivoted about the pivot axis 14 relative to the first chamber part 10 and correspondingly opens the interior 16 of the treatment chamber 1 . In the in the Figures 3 and 4 shown open position of the treatment chamber 1, in which the second chamber part 12 is pivoted relative to the first chamber part 10 into the open position, a container to be filled can be introduced into the treatment chamber 1 or an already filled and/or closed container can be removed from the treatment chamber 1 become.

In its closed position, the treatment chamber 1 is sealed off from the environment in a substantially gas-tight manner, so that an atmosphere different from the environment and/or a pressure different from the environment can be built up in the treatment chamber 1 .

In the exemplary embodiments shown, the first chamber part 10 is an essentially fixed chamber part, which can be connected to a treatment carousel of a filling product filling system, for example via a connection 110 . In order to enable continuous treatment of a stream of containers to be treated in a filling product bottling plant, a large number of treatment chambers 1 and therefore a large number of devices for treating containers 100 are usually arranged around the circumference of a treatment carousel (not shown here) of the filling product bottling plant. The device 100 rotates accordingly together with the treatment carousel in order to enable, for example, the continuous production of containers filled with a filling product and sealed with a container closure.

In order to bring the containers 100 to be filled into the interior 16 of the treatment chamber 1, a feed device (not shown here) is provided, for example in the form of a feed star, by means of which the containers to be filled can be transferred to the device 100 when the treatment chamber 1 is open. After the container has been handed over, the treatment chamber 1 is closed and the container can be subjected to the intended treatment in the treatment chamber - for example filling and sealing.

After the treatment of the respective container has been carried out and/or completed in the closed treatment chamber 1, in particular by filling the container with a filling product and then sealing the container with a container closure, the treatment chamber 1 is opened by pivoting the second chamber part 12 relative to the first chamber part 10 is opened again about the pivot axis 14 . The filled container provided with the container closure can then be output from the device 100 by means of an outlet device, for example in the form of an outlet star wheel, and transferred to a downstream treatment device, for example a labeller or a packaging device.

In order to enable the container to be filled in the treatment chamber 1 to be filled, a filling element receptacle 120 is provided in the first chamber part 10, through which a filling element can be attached to the device 100 in such a way that the filling element can be connected to an inner space 16 of the treatment chamber 1 recorded container and can communicate in particular with the container mouth in order to fill the filling product into the interior of the container can. The filling element, which is accommodated in the filling element receptacle 120, is preferably designed in such a way that, in order to fill the container to be filled, it can be moved in a treatment position with its filling product outlet over the mouth of the container to be filled, and then, after the filling process has been completed, moved back into a parking position can be withdrawn. The retraction of the filling element into a parking position enables a further treatment element, for example a closing element described below, to reach the container mouth undisturbed and without collisions with the filling element or another treatment element, so that the further treatment element can also act on the container.

Correspondingly, a closure member receptacle 130 is also provided in the first chamber part 10, into which a closure member can be inserted, by means of which the filled container within the treatment chamber 1 can be closed with a container closure. The closure element, which is accommodated in the closure element receptacle 130, is also preferably designed such that it can be moved back and forth between a treatment position and a parked position in order to be able to act on the container in the treatment position and another treatment element in the parked position such as letting the filling element act on the container. By suitably controlled advancement or retraction of both the filling element and the closing element, the container accommodated in the treatment chamber 1 can be filled in succession and the container then filled with the filling product can then be closed with a container closure, without the container being filled by the filling element , but not yet sealed containers would have to be handed over to another treatment carousel.

Furthermore, the container can remain stationary in the treatment chamber or at least be moved only along its container axis in order to enable the container accommodated in the treatment chamber 1 to be raised and lowered with respect to the respective treatment element.

A basic schematic representation of the arrangement of the filling element 2, which is accommodated in a filling element receptacle 120 of the first chamber part 10, and of a closing element 132 shown schematically, which is accommodated in the closing element receptacle 130 of the first chamber part 10, is shown schematically in FIG figure 5 shown.

The pivoting of the second chamber part 12 about the pivot axis 14 relative to the first chamber part 10 is achieved by a pivot drive 2 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the swivel drive 2 is formed by an actuator in the form of a pneumatic cylinder 20 which acts on the second chamber part 12 via a swivel lever 22 . By actuating the pneumatic cylinder 20, the second chamber part 12 can be correspondingly pivoted relative to the first chamber part 10, and thus the treatment chamber 1 can be opened and closed in order to transfer containers.

The pivoting lever 22 can be designed as a toggle lever in order to provide efficient closure with a high closing force with a relatively low actuating force in order to enable a sealing closure of the second chamber part 12 in relation to the first chamber part 10 . Furthermore, when using a toggle lever, the treatment chamber 1 can be locked in the closed state with a high closing force by overstretching the toggle lever, without an actuator having to exert a permanent force.

The swivel drive also has an emergency guide 24 which has a roller 240 connected to the swivel lever 22 and a roller guide 242 . The roller guide 242 is arranged in a stationary manner on the treatment device in such a way that the treatment carousel rotates with its rotating part relative to the roller guide 242 . Accordingly, when the device 100 revolves around the treatment device, the roller 240 can follow the contour of the roller guide 242 as a result of the rotation of the treatment carousel.

In normal operation, however, the control of the second chamber part 12 is preferably carried out exclusively via the pneumatic cylinder 20 and the guide roller 240 is usually not in contact with the roller guide 242 in normal operation in order to avoid frictional resistance and to reduce the associated vibration and noise components .

Rather, the emergency guide 24 is only intended to ensure that, in the event of a failure of the pneumatic system or its control or other defects in the control of the swivel drive 2, the second chamber part 12 can still be opened reliably with respect to the first chamber part 10 in order to prevent collisions of the second chamber part 12 with other system components - for example a feed device or an outlet device for the containers to prevent or completely exclude.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the pivot axis 14, about which the first chamber part 10 is pivoted relative to the second chamber part 12, is arranged in the lower area of the treatment chamber 1 in such a way that the fixed, first chamber part 10 with the filling element receptacles 120 arranged in the upper area and closure member receptacles 130 is completely unaffected by the pivoting process. Furthermore, this arrangement ensures that a container receptacle 140, which, for example, in figure 5 is shown, and which is also arranged in the upper area of the treatment chamber 1, while the pivoting of the second chamber part 12 relative to the first chamber part 10 remains accessible for as long as possible.

The pivot axis 14 is preferably arranged horizontally, so that the second chamber part 12 folds out to the outside. With an arrangement of the pivot axis 14 perpendicular to a radius of a treatment carousel, pivoting in the radial direction outwards can also be achieved, so that the opening of the treatment chamber 1 released by the folded-out, second chamber part 12 enables easy loading and unloading of containers and in particular a allows tangential feeding and discharging of containers.

The treatment chamber 1 can also be closed by means of a locking device 3, such as, for example, in FIGS Figures 6 to 8 is shown schematically, the locking device 3 has a locking bolt 30 which has a locking lever 32 which is actuated by a switching element 34 when the device 100 and in particular the treatment chamber 1 rotates in such a way that the treatment chamber 1 and in particular the first chamber part 10 are locked opposite the second chamber part 12 is reached.

For this purpose, the locking bolt 30 has a locking element 36 which, in a first switching position, which is, for example, in figure 7 is shown in a corresponding Locking receptacle 38 can be inserted and in a second switching position, for example in figure 8 is shown, the locking element 36 is rotated relative to the locking receptacle 38 so that a positive locking is formed.

In order to achieve a gas-tight and pressure-tight design of the treatment chamber 1 and in particular to be able to seal off the interior 16 of the treatment chamber 1 from the environment in a pressure-tight manner, a switchable seal 4 is preferably provided, which is provided, for example, in the first stationary chamber part 10 . The switchable seal 4 is included, as for example in figures 9 and 10 shown, in a sealing groove 40, introduced in the first chamber part 10 and in particular in its edge region, which is opposite the second chamber part 12 in the closed state of the treatment chamber 1. The sealing groove 40 accommodates a sealing element 42 which can be switched in that a pressure medium is introduced into the cavity formed between the sealing element 42 and the sealing groove 40 and the sealing element 42 is thereby pressed out of the sealing groove 40 .

This is schematic in figure 11 shown, from which both the sealing groove 40, which is provided in the edge region of the first chamber part 10, and the sealing element 42, which is in the figure 11 shown embodiment in the form of an elastomeric cord with a circular cross-section in the relaxed state can be seen. The pressure medium can correspondingly be introduced via a pressure medium channel 44 into the pressure space 440 formed between the sealing groove 40 and the sealing element 42 in such a way that the sealing element 42 wants to move out of the sealing groove 40 . Correspondingly, the sealing element 42 is pressed against an opposite surface, for example a surface of the second chamber part 12, for example an edge area of the second chamber part 12, by means of the sealing agent.

The pressure that has to be applied in the pressure chamber 440 by means of the sealant in order to achieve a tight seal can be significantly lower than the pressure that is to be sealed perpendicular thereto.

In figure 12 Another geometry of this switchable seal 4 is shown, with the sealing element 42 having a rectangular cross section in this exemplary embodiment, which has a width which essentially corresponds to the width of the sealing groove 40 . Due to this geometry occur when this sealing element 42 is acted upon with the perpendicular to the Contact pressure force directed compressive force, which is exerted by a pressure present in the interior of the treatment chamber 1 on the sealing element 42, no forces that would press the sealing element 42 from its sealing position.

When using a sealing element 42 with a circular cross-section, on the other hand, forces acting against the pressing direction of the sealing element 42 can also act on the sealing element 42, which require an increase in the pressure of the pressure medium in the pressure chamber 440 in order to maintain the seal.

In figure 13 further possible geometries for sealing elements 42 are shown, which can be introduced into the sealing groove 40 and which can be used to seal off the second chamber part 12 from the first chamber part 10 .

In order to prevent pressure chamber 440 of switchable seal 4 from being pressurized as long as the corresponding mating surface against which sealing element 42 is to be pressed is not positioned opposite and there is a corresponding risk that sealing element 42 will be damaged when pressurized is pressed out of the sealing groove 40, a safety device 46 is provided, which is shown schematically in figure 14 is shown.

In other words, a safety device 46 is provided, by means of which it can be prevented that the sealing element 42 of the switchable seal 4 is pressed out of the sealing groove 40 when the treatment chamber 1 is still open and, correspondingly, the first chamber part 10 and the second chamber part 12 are not yet touch each other.

In this embodiment, the first chamber part 10, which is provided fixed, with the in the figure 14 schematically indicated switchable seal 4, which has a sealing element 42, which in turn is arranged in a sealing groove 40 and correspondingly forms a pressure chamber 440. The pressure medium can be supplied to the pressure chamber 440 via a pressure medium channel 44 , a pressure medium channel 44 also being provided in the second chamber part 12 . The pressure medium passage 44 of the first chamber part 10 opens into an opening 442 which is brought into sealing agreement with an opposing opening 444 when the first and second chamber parts 10, 12 abut one another. Accordingly, the pressure medium channel 44 extends when closed Treatment chamber 1 from the first chamber part 10 into the second chamber part 12 when the first chamber part 10 and the second chamber part 12 are locked together accordingly. The pressure channel 44 extends through the second chamber part 12 and can be brought back there via a corresponding nozzle-shaped connection 460, which can be brought into gas-tight correspondence with a receptacle 462 in the first chamber part 10 when the first chamber part 10 is locked to the second chamber part 12 be fed back into the first chamber part 10 . Accordingly, there is only a continuous pressure medium channel 44 when the first chamber part 10 is locked to the second chamber part 12 . If the first chamber part 10 and the second chamber part 12 are not locked together, the pressure medium channel 44 is open and not connected to the pressure chamber 440 of the switchable seal 4 .

In other words, in the safety device 46 of the second chamber part 12, which can be pivoted relative to the first chamber part 10, serves as a safety device and thus as a switch for connecting the pressure medium channel 44 to the pressure chamber 440.

Accordingly, it can be prevented that pressure medium is applied to the pressure chamber 440 when the treatment chamber 1 is not closed or the second chamber part 12 is not brought into contact with the first chamber part 10 . Inadvertent destruction of the switchable seal 4 can thus be avoided.

Other forms of the safety device 46 are conceivable, for example in the form of a mechanically switchable valve which prevents the supply of pressure medium into the pressure chamber 440 as long as the treatment chamber 1 is not closed and/or locked.

The safety device is preferably of mechanical design in order to prevent the sealing element 42 from being pressed out of the sealing groove 40 in the event of a failure of electronics or control devices.

In the figure 15 a further embodiment of a sealing element 42 for the mutual sealing of the first chamber part 10 with respect to the second chamber part 12 is shown.

In addition to the sealing element for sealing off the first chamber part 10 from the second chamber part 12 , a mouth seal 5 is provided, by means of which the container mouth 162 of a container to be filled can be sealed off from the treatment chamber 1 .

The container 160 can thus be accommodated completely in the treatment chamber 1, but different pressures can be provided for the area inside the container 160 and outside the container 160, for example.

In an alternative embodiment, the mouth seal 5 can also be provided in the area of the chamber parts 10 , 12 , so that the treatment chamber 1 is also sealed by the mouth seal 5 . In other words, part of the container 160 is then arranged inside the treatment chamber 1, for example the container mouth 162, and part of the container 160 lies outside the treatment chamber 1.

The mouth seal 5 is preferably also designed as a switchable seal and preferably in the figure 16 shown expression provided. Accordingly, the mouth seal 5 is placed in a mouth seal groove 50 and sealing elements 52 are provided. The sealing elements 52 can be switched by pressurizing the pressure chamber 500 formed between the sealing elements 52 and the mouth sealing groove 50 .

In a special form, the in figure 17 shown form of the sealing element 52 is provided, in which the sealing of a sealing element 52 is provided on an opposite surface and in particular on an opposite further sealing element 52 via a lip 520 flared out in relation to the remaining contour of the sealing element 52 . The lip 520 correspondingly extends in the direction of the opposite surface or of the sealing element 52 in such a way that when the sealing elements 52 or the pressure chamber 500 are acted upon by the pressure medium, the lip 520 makes sealing contact. Since the sealing element 52 is pushed out of the mouth sealing groove 50 to different extents due to the tolerances of the respective container mouths 162, the lip 520 can in any case achieve a sealing contact of the sealing element 52 on the opposite surface. The lip 520 accordingly serves to bridge a gap 522 formed between two opposite sealing elements 52 or one sealing element 52 and an opposite surface in a sealing manner when the gap widths are different. The different gap widths of the gap 522 result from the tolerances of the different container mouths 162 of the containers to be treated that are respectively accommodated in the treatment chamber 1 .

Due to the tolerances of the container mouths 162, there is also a slight rotation of the sealing element 52 around the lip 520, which serves as a kind of fulcrum, so that a reliable seal can also be achieved with such a rotation. The lip 520 can then still reliably provide a seal. In this way, the special geometric design of at least one of the sealing elements 52 with a lip 520 results in a reliable, pressure-tight sealing of the container mouth 162 of the container to be filled with respect to the environment.

In figure 18 a further embodiment of the device 100 is shown, in which a volume reduction device 6 in the form of an insert, which can be inserted both in the first chamber part 10 and in the second chamber part 12, is provided in the interior space 16 of the treatment chamber 1 in order to reduce the volume of the interior space 16 of the treatment chamber 1 to reduce. This is important when containers to be filled, which have a smaller volume, are to be filled in order in this way to save compressed gas, which is to be introduced into the interior 16 of the treatment chamber 1 .

The volume reduction device 6 is preferably designed in at least two parts, with the first part 60 being placed in the stationary first chamber part 10 and the second part 62 being placed in the second, pivotable chamber part 12 . Correspondingly, the two parts 60 , 62 of the volume reduction device 6 can be operated as if the device 100 and the treatment chamber 1 were being operated without the volume reduction device 6 . In other words, the first part 62 of the volume reduction device 6 pivots and the other part 60 of the volume reduction device 6 remains stationary.

In figure 19 the connection of a cleaning channel 7 is also shown, which is guided in a first area 70 in the stationary, first chamber part 10 and in a second area 72 in the pivotable second chamber part 12. By means of the cleaning channel 7, a cleaning medium can be used during the cleaning of the device 100 or a cleaning agent can be introduced into the interior 16 of the treatment chamber in such a way that the entire interior of the treatment chamber 1 can also be rinsed and cleaned.

reference list

1

treatment chamber

10

first chamber part

12

second chamber part

14

pivot axis

16

inner space

100

contraption

110

connection

120

filling element recording

122

filling element

130

capping organ recording

132

closing element

140

container pickup

160

container

162

container mouth

2

slewing drive

20

pneumatic cylinder

22

swing lever

24

emergency guidance

240

leadership role

242

roller guide

3

locking device

30

locking bolt

32

locking lever

34

switching element

36

locking element

38

locking receptacle

4

switchable seal

40

seal groove

42

sealing element

44

pressure medium channel

46

safety device

440

pressure room

442

opening

444

opening

460

Connection

5

muzzle seal

50

muzzle seal groove

52

sealing element

500

pressure room

520

lip

522

gap

6

volume reduction device

60

first part

62

second part

7

cleaning channel

70

first area

72

second area

Claims (12)

1. Device (100) for filling a container with a filling product and/or for closing the filled container with a container closure in a product filling system, comprising a treatment chamber (1) for at least partially receiving each container to be treated and comprising at least one treatment member (122, 132) acting on the container received in the treatment chamber (1), wherein

   the treatment chamber (1) has a first chamber part (10) and a second chamber part (12), the second chamber part (12) being pivotable relative to the first chamber part (10) about a horizontally aligned pivot axis (14) to open and close the treatment chamber (1)

   characterised in that

   the pivot axis (14) is arranged in the lower region of the treatment chamber (1).
2. Device (100) according to claim 1, characterised in that the pivot axis (14) is arranged perpendicular to the radius of a treatment carousel, on the circumference of which the device (100) is arranged.
3. Device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the second chamber part (12) is pivotable relative to the first chamber part (10) by means of a pivot drive (2), wherein the pivot drive (2) has an actuator for pivoting the second chamber part (12) relative to the first chamber part (10) and/or a roller guide with a guide roller (240), which is guided on a roller guide (242).
4. Device (100) according to claim 3, characterised in that the actuator presses the guide roller (240) onto the roller guide (242), wherein the actuator is preferably a pneumatic cylinder which is particularly preferably permanently supplied with compressed air from a ring line.
5. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first chamber part (10) can be sealed off from the second chamber part (12) via a switchable seal (4).
6. Device (100) according to claim 5, characterised in that the switchable seal (4) has a safety device (46) which prevents switching of the switchable seal (4) when the treatment chamber (1) is open and preferably comprises a pressure medium supply which is interrupted when the treatment chamber (1) is open.
7. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a mouth seal (5) is provided by means of which a container mouth (162) of the container can be sealed relative to the treatment chamber (1), the mouth seal (5) preferably being a switchable seal.
8. Device (100) according to claim 7, characterised in that the mouth seal (5) has a sealing element (52) having a varying cross-section and preferably a lip (520) by means of which it can be applied against an opposite sealing surface.
9. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a locking device (3) is provided, which can be controlled via a control cam and which can be positively locked to close the treatment chamber (1).
10. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a volume reducing device (6) for reducing the volume of the treatment chamber (1) is provided, which preferably comprises a volume reducing element with a first part (60) arranged at the first chamber part (10) and a second part (62) arranged at the second chamber part (12).
11. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a cleaning channel (7) extends from the first chamber part (10) into the second chamber part (12) and from there into the treatment chamber (1) and preferably opens into the treatment chamber (1) in the lower part thereof.
12. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the treatment member acting on the container in the treatment chamber (1) is configured as a filling member (122) for filling a respective container received in the treatment chamber (1) with a filling product and/or as a closure member (132) for closing a container received in the treatment chamber (1) and filled with a filling product, wherein preferably a filling member (122) and a closure member (132) each act in succession on the container in the treatment chamber (1).

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