FR2692243A1 - Installation for filling bottles with liquid. - Google Patents

Abstract

Installation consisting of a barrel (1) mounted to rotate on a vertical axis (2) and comprising at its periphery several filling heads (4) connected to a reservoir (7) containing the filling liquid, the lower end of these heads being provided with a first valve (12), actuated by the bottle (17) during their relative movement, this first valve blocking the flow of the liquid (8) towards the bottle placed on the head, installation characterized in that that a second valve (15) is arranged under the first valve (12) to be actuated, during the axial relative displacement of the bottle and of the head, before the actuation of the first valve (12), this second valve (15 ) being connected to a source of pressurized gas (18) to introduce this gas into the bottle before the introduction of the liquid.

Description

i

  "Installation for filling bottles with liquid".

  This installation consists of a barrel rotatably mounted on a vertical axis and comprising at its periphery several filling heads connected to a reservoir containing the filling liquid, the lower end of these heads being provided with a first valve, actuated by the bottle during their relative displacement, this first valve blocking the flow of the liquid towards the bottle placed on the head, installation characterized in that a second

  valve is placed under the first valve to be actuated, during the relative axial displacement of the bottle and the head, before actuation of the first valve, this second valve being connected to a source of pressurized gas to introduce this gas in the bou-

  before the introduction of the liquid. According to another characteristic of the invention, the head comprises an axially movable cannula, the upper end of which opens into a zone subjected to air pressure situated above the liquid in the reservoir and the lower end of which is surrounded by the first and second valves arranged one above the other for their successive actuation, this arrangement being such that this cannula occupies two corresponding axial positions,

  one in a closed position of the cannula, the other

  be in an open position of the cannula, independent

  especially the open and closed positions of the first and second valves.

  According to another characteristic of the

  vention, the second valve, arranged under the first valve to be actuated by the bottle before the actuation of the first valve, comprises a first valve seat formed between the first and the second valves.

  According to another characteristic of the

  vention, the two seats corresponding to the two posi-

  the second valve is closed at

  each time between the first and second valves.

  The invention is shown by way of example

  ple nonlimiting in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an axial and schematic half-sectional view of the installation according to the invention, Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show the filling head of the installation of FIG. 1 in the four successive stages of operation, FIGS. 6 and 7 represent two other embodiments of the filling head, more particularly suitable for washing the head

after use.

  The present invention therefore aims to achieve an installation for filling bottles with a liquid, which ensures only

  by a relative displacement of the head and the bottles

  to be filled, a succession of operations such that before filling the bottle with a liquid, a gas is introduced into this bottle capable of ensuring the preservation of the characteristics of the liquid and

  particularly suitable for avoiding modification of its qua-

  taste, its oxidation or proliferation

bacteria.

  This installation consists of a barrel

  1 rotatably mounted on an axis 2 of a frame 3, this barrel

  let 1 comprising at its periphery a plurality of regularly distributed filling heads 4, of axis

  Vertical X-X, i.e. parallel to axis 2.

  Each head consists of a body 5, the upper end of which comprises two vertical tubes 6 opening at their upper end to the lower end of a withdrawal tank 7 containing the

  liquid 8 to be introduced into the bottles.

  This body 5 has, below the tubes 6, an axial core 9 surrounded by a skirt 10 open to

its lower end.

  In the axis of the core 9 is slidably mounted

  sealed a cannula 11 whose upper end opens into the withdrawal tank 7 above the level of the liquid 8 while the lower closed end is provided with lateral orifices 11, located at

  near this closed end (see Figure 4).

  The core 9 is surrounded by a first valve 12 movable axially against a spring 13, this first valve 12 forming at 12, a valve seat

  with complementary surfaces of the core 9.

  This first valve 12 defines with the core 9 and above the seat 121, an annular passage 81

  for the liquid 8 from the racking tank and

  lanyard, under this seat 121, by a siphon device 82 also of annular shape ending in an annular passage 83 at a liquid outlet spout

  8 formed between def readers 91 of the lower end

  lower of the core 9 and the lower flange 122 of the valve 12. When this valve 12 is in its position

  low (Figure 1), this spout and the seat 12 are closed.

  The first valve 12 is mounted to slide-

  axially against the spring 13 while being guided in a sealed manner by its upper end on the

internal wall of a skirt 14.

  Around this first valve 12, is disposed a second valve 15 which is guided in axial sliding

  and sealed at 151 on the internal wall of the skirt 10.

  This sliding of the second valve 15 is

  performed against a spring 16.

  This second valve 15 has an area

  of annular support 152 for the edge of the neck of the

  teille 17 to be filled, as well as two zones forming with complementary zones of the first valve 12, two valve seats, the upper one 154 or first seat,

  the other lower 153 or second seat This second class

  pet 15 is arranged, for its actuation, under the first valve 12 so that when the bottle 17 is raised, it first comes to bear

  on the bearing surface 152 of the valve 15 in order to lift

  see this valve 15 and open the upper seat 154 against the spring 16 before the first valve

  12 is raised against the spring 13.

  Furthermore, these two upper 154 and lower 153 seats of the second valve are arranged one above the other in an axial direction, the upper seat 154 being arranged so as to be closed when the second valve 15 occupies its position the lower (Figure 1), the lower seat 153 being arranged to be closed when this second valve 15 occupies its highest position relative to the first valve

(see figure 4).

  In addition, these two seats 153, 154 formed between the first and the second valves, are arranged so as to produce during the axial displacement of the

  second valve 15, an open position of this valve

  pet between two determined closing positions, for the low position of the second valve 15 by closing the upper valve seat 154 and, for the high position of this valve 15 by closing the

  lower valve seat 153 This open position

  intermediate size (see Figures 2, 3 and 5) corresponds to the introduction into the bottle 17 of a gas under

  pressure from a reservoir 18 and opening at the

  the outer skirt 10 above the upper seat

laughter 154 of the second valve 15.

  This reservoir 18 contains the gas intended for

  ensure the preservation of the characteristics of the liquid

  of introduced into the bottle and is at a pressure

  higher than that of the air located in the bottom tank

  draft 7 above the liquid level 8.

  The lifting of each bottle 17 to produce the actuation of the second valve 15 before

  the actuation of the first valve 12 is obtained from

  shot from a circular cam 19 (see FIG. 1) arranged coaxially with the axis 2 and on which a roller 20 is supported, mounted on a slide 21 parallel to the axis 2, this slide being guided by slides

22 of frame 1.

  The lower end of each slide

  21 supports a harness 23 on which is placed

cer a bottle 17 to fill.

  Likewise, the cannula 11 is movable in descent along the axis X-X of the head 4 by means of a roller 25 cooperating with an adjustable circular cam sector 24 A second fixed cam sector

  24 i cooperates with this roller for raising the canu-

the 11th.

  The operation of this installation is

the following.

  During the rotation of barrel 1, the

  rollers 20 rolling on the cam 19 raise successively-

  the bottles 17 by the slide 21 so that the edge of the upper orifice of each bottle comes to rest on the bearing surface 152 of the

  second valve 15 in order to lift this valve.

  At this stage (see FIG. 2), the second valve 15 opens by its seat 154 while the first

  valve 12 is closed by its seat 121.

  In this position, the circular cam 24 has not yet lowered the cannula 11 and its lower lateral orifices 11 are closed by the end

lower of the core 9.

  The gas contained in the reservoir 18 then flows, through the two open seats 154 and 153, into the bottle 17, until the pressures of the

bottle and tank 18.

  The circular cam 24 then controls the descent of the cannula 11 via the roller so that the air and the gas contained in the

  bottle escape through the cannula towards the upper zone

  of the withdrawal tank 7 while the reservoir 18 continues to introduce gas into the bottle. In this position, there is a sweeping of the air from the bottle, which is evacuated towards the tank 7, this air being replaced, in the bottle,

by gas from the tank 18.

  The circular cam 19 continuing the movement

  bottle ascent 17 __- end-i-t by closing the lower seat 153 of the second valve and begins

  immediately lift the first valve 12 to the

  against the spring 13, which has the effect of opening the seat 12, of this first valve 12 and allowing the liquid from the reservoir 7 to flow through the tubes 6, the annular passage 81, the open valve 121, the siphon 82, the annular passage 83 and the interior flow opening 84 During this filling, the liquid flow is deflected towards the internal wall of the neck

  of the bottle 17 due to the deflectors 91.

  Note that the complementary surfaces of the first and second valves 12 and 15 forming the

  lower seat 153 of this second valve 15 are so-

  killed above the flow orifice 84 so that the support zone 152 of the bottle on this second valve can itself be located above this

opening 84.

  This third stage of operation (FIG. 4) for which the second valve 15 is closed and the

  first valve 12 open, therefore corresponds to filling

  sage of the bottle by the liquid from the reservoir 7, the cannula 11 being, in this position, open by its orifices 111 in order to allow the evacuation of the gas towards the upper zone of the reservoir 7, as and

  measurement of the filling of the bottle with the liquid.

  The bottle being full, the cam circulated

  re 19 then controls the descent of the bottle to a position corresponding to that of FIG. 3, the

  first valve 12 being closed again to interrupt

  pre the liquid flow, while the valve

  laughing 15 is in its open intermediate position

  again allowing the gas from the reservoir 18 to penetrate

  store in the bottle (see Figure 5).

  In this position, the circular cam 24 controls the progressive descent of the cannula 11 to a determined level corresponding to the desired level of the liquid in the bottle and as this descent proceeds, the pressurized gas from the reservoir 18 causes the liquid to flow back,

  excess in the bottle, towards the tank 7.

  Finally, the filling head 4 returns, during the circular movement of the barrel 1, to its initial position (FIG. 1) for which the cannula is again closed by its end.

  lower using cam 24, while the

  full head separates from head and can be evacuated

  cuee. In the example shown in Figures 1 to 5, the cannula 11 opens directly at its upper end into the withdrawal tank 7 above the liquid level 8 This embodiment

  however involves the implementation of watertight seals

  between the cannula and the reservoir.

  Another embodiment may however

  dant provide that each cannula of different heads

  is connected by a flexible pipe 26 to a collection

  circular tor 27 itself also connected to the

  upper part of the withdrawal tank 7.

  Also, according to the invention, devices are provided which allow washing of the head 4 and more particularly of the whole of the lower part of this head, which is capable of being

  contaminated by liquid splashes and on which

  dust could stick to it.

  According to Figure 6, it is thus provided that the harness 23 can be raised or the head can be lowered until it comes to be housed tightly inside the edge

bottom of skirt 10.

  __- This lifting of harness 23 will be obtained

  by the cooperation of the roller 20 with a circulating cam-

  not shown, coming to be superimposed on the cam 19 when a filling operation using a

specified product is finished.

  To perform this washing operation, it is provided that the closure device, constituted by the harness 23 and / or the valve 15, includes means ensuring the actuation of the valves 15 and 12

  to determine the closure of the second valve in posi-

  tion high and the opening of the first valve to allow the passage of a washing product from a reservoir 28 from the inner area 10 of the skirt 10, that is to say including the outer wall of the valve 15 and up to the interior zone 155 of this

second valve 15.

  According to the example of realization of the figu-

  re 6, these means are provided on the valve 15 which for this purpose has a finger 156 coming to bear on the harness 23 in order to close the interior seat 153 of the second valve 15 and to open the seat 12, of the first valve 12 The detergent from the reservoir 28 after having washed all the lower areas of the head liable to be soiled, is discharged towards the

tank 7 to be evacuated.

  According to this embodiment, the fifth wheel 23 also comprises in its central zone, a small piston 23 i pushed by a spring 232, this piston being

  intended to fade under the action of the cannula It places

  created in the low position during the washing operation.

  During the filling operation, this piston 23 returns to the plane of the harness 23 to avoid the accumulation of dirt in this housing of the

piston 231.

  According to the example of realization of the figu-

  re 7, washing the entire lower end

  head is obtained by using a housing 29 which fits tightly

  against the outer wall of the skirt 10.

  In this case, this box is provided internally.

  rement of a finger 29 i capable of lifting the second then the first valve to produce, as in the case of FIG. 6, the closing of the lower seat 153 of the second valve 15 and the opening of the seat 12, of the valve 12 so to allow the detergent contained in the reservoir 28 to wash the entire lower area of the head and then to drain into the

tank 7.

  In this arrangement, the housing 29 will preferably be positioned, by a dovetail or similar assembly 30, on a support 21, provided,

  for example, at a certain height on the runner

bucket 21.

he

Claims (11)

  1) Installation for filling bottles with a liquid, consisting of a barrel (1) rotatably mounted on a vertical axis (2) and comprising at its periphery several filling heads (4) connected to a reservoir ( 7) containing the filling liquid, the lower end of these heads being provided with a first valve (12), actuated   by the bottle (17) during their relative displacement   tif, this first valve closing the flow of liquid   from (8) to the bottle placed on the head, installed   tion characterized in that a second valve (15) is   arranged under the first valve (12) to be action-   born, during the relative axial displacement of the bottle and the head, before the actuation of the first valve (12), this second valve (15) being connected to a source of pressurized gas (18) to introduce this gas into   the bottle before the introduction of the liquid.   2) Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the head comprises an axially movable cannula (11), the upper end of which opens into an area subjected to air pressure located above the liquid in the reservoir (7 ) and whose lower end is surrounded by the first and second valves arranged one above the other for their successive actuation, this arrangement being such that this cannula occupies two positions   corresponding axial, one at a closed position   ture of the cannula, the other in an open position of the cannula, independently of the open and closed positions of the first and second valves (12,). 3) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   the second valve (15), arranged under the first valve   to be activated by the bottle (16) before access   actuation of the first valve (12), comprises a first valve seat (154) formed between the first and the second valves.   4) Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the second valve disposed   under the first valve to be actuated by the valve   before the actuation of the first valve comprises a first seat (154) and a second seat (153) corresponding to two closing positions of the second valve, these two positions being separated by a   intermediate opening position.   ) Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the two seats (154, 153) corresponding to the two closing positions of the second valve (15) are provided each time between the first and second valves.   6) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   the second seat (153) of the second valve (15) is available   dried in such a way that, in the closed position of the second valve, this seat (153) is arranged above   of the liquid flow opening (84) through the first mier flapper.   7) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   the two seats (154 and 153) of the second valve are   arranged one above the other in an axial direction   the, the upper seat or first seat being disposed so as to be closed when the second valve occupies its lowest position, the lower seat or second seat (153) being arranged to be closed when the second valve (15) occupies its position the   higher compared to the first valve.   8) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   the first valve (12) and the second valve (15) are arranged in such a way that the relative axial displacement of the bottles to be filled with liquid and the head (4) as well as the displacement of the cannula (11) on the   head are made during the rotation of the barrel-   let to produce the following operations in order   tes: a) opening the second valve (15), the first valve (12) being closed, the cannula (11) being open; b) closing the second valve (15) and opening the first valve (12), the cannula (11) being open; c) closing the first valve (12), the second valve   (15) being open, the cannula (11) being open.   9) Installation according to claim 8, characterized in that operation a) is preceded by an operation in which the second valve is   open while the first valve is closed, the canu- being closed.   10) Installation according to any one   claims 8 and 9, characterized in that when   from operation c), the open cannula (11) descends in the bottle to a predetermined level.   11) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   the first and the second axially movable valves (12, 15)   one on top of the other, are movable by sliding   waterproof on an outer skirt (14, 10).   12) Installation according to the claim   11, characterized in that the gas source under pressure   sion (18) opens into the skirt (10) at a level such that the flow of gas is prevented by the first   seat (154), in the closed position, of the second fart.   13) Installation according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in   that a shutter device (23, 25) is provided for   fit tightly on the lower end   re of the skirt while a pipe connected to a reservoir of a washing product opens into this skirt, the closure device (23, 25) and / or the second valve (15) being provided with means ensuring the actuation of the first and second valves for   determine the closure of the second valve and the opening-   re the first valve and allow the passage of the   detergent from inside the skirt inward the second valve.