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(11) | EP 0 138 234 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Apparatus for filling fixed amount of liquid into containers |
| (57) @ A filling apparatus comprising a machine main body (1) and a high-viscosity liquid
nozzle (2), the machine main body comprising a liquid tank (4), a filling cylinder
(6) having an upper end portion (10) extending upward through the bottom wall (5)
of the tank and communicating with the tank, and a metering cylinder (7) communicating
with an intermediate portion of the filling cylinder, the filling cylinder being formed
at the projecting portion with a high-viscosity liquid inlet (13) open to the interior
of the tank and having fitted therein a piston (16) for opening or closing the inlet.
The high-viscosity liquid nozzle (2) includes a tubular nozzle main body (49) attached
at its upper end to the lower end of the filling cylinder, a damper (50) pivoted to
the lower end of the nozzle main body, a damper opening rod (51) vertically movably
supported by the nozzle main body, and a spring (52) for biasing the damper opening
rod upward. The damper opening rod has a lower end connected to the damper and an
upper end projecting into a space in which the piston (16) moves down so that the
damper opening rod (51) is depressed by the downward movement of the piston by a distance
to open the damper. |
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling a fixed amount of flowable food or like liquid into containers.
[0002] Generally milk or like liquid, which is low in viscosity and free flowing, can be easily filled into containers in a fixed amount with high accuracy at a high speed. However, juices containing fruit flesh, fresh cream, yogurt and like liquids, which are more viscous and less flowable than milk, are difficult to fill into containers smoothly and efficiently unlike milk.
[0003] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for smoothly and efficiently filling containers with a fixed amount of liquid of high viscosity, as well as of low viscosity.
[0004] The apparatus of the present invention for filling a fixed amount of liquid into containers comprises a machine main body and a high-viscosity liquid nozzle. The machine main body comprises a liquid tank, a filling cylinder having an upper end portion extending through and projecting upward beyond the bottom wall of the liquid tank and communicating with the tank, and a metering cylinder communicating with an intermediate portion of the filling cylinder between the upper and lower ends thereof. The filling cylinder is formed at the projecting portion with a high-viscosity liquid inlet open to the interior of the liquid tank and has fitted therein a piston for opening or closing the inlet. The high-viscosity liquid nozzle includes a tubular nozzle main body attached at its upper end to the lower end of the filling cylinder, a damper pivoted to the lower end of the nozzle main body, a damper opening rod vertically movably supported by the nozzle main body, and a spring for biasing the damper opening rod upward. The damper opening rod has a lower end connected to the damper and an upper end projecting into a space in which the piston moves down so that the damper opening rod is depressed by the downward movement of the piston by a distance to open the damper.
[0005] Preferably the filling apparatus is provided with a low-viscosity liquid nozzle for the machine main body. The high-viscosity liquid nozzle should be used for filling liquids of high viscosity, and the low-viscosity liquid nozzle for liquids of low viscosity.
[0006] When a high-viscosity liquid is to be filled into a container, the piston is raised and lowered with the high-viscosity liquid nozzle connected to the filling cylinder. This opens and closes the high-viscosity liquid inlet, and closes and opens the damper, permitting the liquid to flow out from the tank into the filling cylinder and flow out from the nozzle smoothly. Moreover, the air entering the filling cylinder along with the liquid is released into the tank through the inlet when the inlet is opened, so that the high-viscosity liquid can be filled into the container efficiently.
[0007] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figs. 1, 4 and 5 are fragmentary views in vertical section showing a liquid filling apparatus of the invention; and
Figs. 2 and 3 are views in section taken along the lines II-IT and III-III in Fig. 1, respectively.
[0008] The liquid filling apparatus shown comprises a machine main body 1 and a high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2 and is further provided with a low-viscosity nozzle 3. The two nozzles 2 and 3 are shown in Figs. 1 and.4, respectively, as connected to the machine main body 1.
[0009] The machine main body 1 comprises a liquid tank 4, a filling cylinder 6 having an upper end portion extending through and projecting upward beyond the bottom-wall 5 of the liquid tank 4 and communicating with the tank 4, and a metering cylinder 7 communicating with an intermediate portion of the filling cylinder 6 between the upper and lower ends thereof.
[0010] The liquid tank 4 has a top opening which is covered with a lid 8. Extending vertically into the liquid tank 4 through the lid 8 is a sterilizing steam pipe 9 having a spray nozzle.
[0011] The filling cylinder 6 comprises upper and lower tubular members 10, 11 and a nut 12 connecting these members together in alignment. The portion of the upper tubular member 10 projecting into the tank 4 is formed with a high-viscosity liquid inlet 13 in its peripheral wall. As seen in Fig. 2, the inlet 13 is formed by cutting out a major portion of the peripheral wall except three partitions 14 which equidistantly divide the circumference of the wall. In the vicinity of the inlet 13, the upper tubular member 10 has a smooth inner surface 15 and has fitted therein a piston 16 for opening or closing the inlet 13. Below the inlet 13, the inner surface 15 of the upper tubular member 19 includes a diametrically enlarged portion 17. An 0-ring 18 is attached to the inner surface 15 immediately above the enlarged portion 17. The lower tubular member 11 is provided approximately at the longitudinal midportion thereof with a channel 19 communicating with the metering cylinder 7. The lower end of the lower tubular member 11 is externally threaded as at 20. One of the nozzles 2 and 3 is removably connected to the filling cylinder 6 by a nozzle fastening nut 21 screwed on the threaded end 20.
[0012] The metering cylinder 7 comprises a cylinder body 22, a piston 23 slidably fitted in the cylinder body 22 and a piston rod 24. The piston rod 24 extends downward through a bottom closure 25 and is moved upward and downward at a given stroke by unillustrated means. Descent of the piston 23 with the piston rod 24 permits liquid to flow into the metering cylinder 7 from the filling cylinder 6, while the rise of the piston 23 discharges the liquid from the metering cylinder 7.
[0013] The inlet opening-closing piston 16 comprises a disklike bottom wall 26, a cylindrical peripheral wall 27 extending vertically upward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 26, and an arm 28 connected between opposed upper end portions of the peripheral wall 27 and approximately in the form of an inverted U-shape when seen from one side.The bottom wall 26 centrally has a low-viscosity liquid inlet 29, which is provided with an upper check valve 30.The upper check valve 30 has a valve disk 31 and a valve stem 32 integral therewith. The valve stem 32 extends through a guide member 33 approximately Y-shaped when seen from above and provided on the upper side of the piston bottom wall 26. The valve disk 31 is held in intimate contact with the lower surface of the inlet-defining inner periphal portion of the wall 26 by a coiled compression spring 35 provided between the guide member 33 and a stopper 34 attached to the upper end of the valve stem 32.
[0014] As seen in Fig. 5; the piston 16 is connected to a lifting fluid pressure cylinder 38 by a connecting rod 36 and a length adjusting member 37 for the rod 36. The connecting rod 36 is inserted through the steam pipe 9 and extends outward from the tank 4. At a location a distance above the liquid tank 4, the steam pipe 9 is directed horizontally by a T-shaped pipe 39. A guide member 40 for the connecting rod 36 is attached to the upper end of the T-shaped pipe 39 as if blocking the passageway through the pipe. The connecting rod 36 extends upward through the guide member 40. Alongside the rod 36, a bracket 41 extends upward from the guide member 40. The fluid pressure cylinder 38 is supported by the bracket 41 and oriented vertically downward. The length adjusting member 37 for the connecting rod is tubular, is connected to the piston rod 42 of the cylinder 38 and has an open lower end. The connecting rod 36 has a lower end connected to the top of the arm 28 of the piston 16 (see Fig. 1) and an upper end fitted in the length adjusting member 37 and movable relative to the member 37 longitudinally thereof. The adjusting member 37 has four holes,i.e. first to fourth length adjusting holes 43 to 46, as arranged longitudinally thereof at different spacings in the order mentioned. The connecting rod 36 has a positioning bore 47 at its upper end. A lock pin 48 having a knob is inserted into the positioning bore 47 through one of the first to fourth length adjusting holes 43 to 46, whereby the connecting rod 36 is connected to the rod 42 of the cylinder 38 fixedly axially thereof by the length adjusting member 37. Fig. 5 shows the lock pin 48 as inserted through the first length adjusting hole 43. When the rod 42 of the cylinder 38 is projected in this state, the adjusting member 37 and the rod 36 cause the piston 16 to lower from the upper limit position (shown in solid lines in Fig. 1) of its inlet opening-closing stroke to the lower limit position (shown in broken lines) of the stroke. When the piston 16 is lowered to the broken-line position, the bottom wall 26 is positioned slightly below the 0-ring 18, with the peripheral wall 27 closing the high-viscosity liquid inlet 13 to thereby hold the piston 16 in hermetic contact with the filling cylinder 6 and close the inlet 13. When the high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2 is used for filling as will be described later, the piston 16 is thus moved between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the inlet opening-closing stroke effected by the cylinder 38. The spacing between the first length adjusting hole 43 and the second hole 44 is approximately equal to the stroke length of the cylinder 38. Accordingly when the connecting rod 36 is fixed to the length adjusting member 37 by inserting the lock pin 48 through the second length adjusting hole 44, with the rod 42 of the cylinder 38 in its retracted position, the piston 16 is at a lowered position approximately the same as the lower limit position of the stroke effected by the cylinder 38. The low-viscosity liquid nozzle 3 is used for filling,with the piston 16 held in this position. Further if the piston 16 is lowered to a position below the lower limit position with the lock pin 48 inserted through the third length adjusting hole 45, the peripheral wall 27 of the piston:is entirely positioned below the 0-ring 18 to thereby form a clearance in the filling cylinder 6 around the piston 16. The clearance serves as a passageway for releasing air when a filling operation is to be started with use of the low-viscosity liquid nozzle 3. When the lock pin 48 is inserted through the fourth length adjusting hole 46, the piston is further lowered to enlarge the above clearance. In this state, steam is forced out from the spray nozzle of the steam pipe 9 to sterilize the interior of the apparatus.
[0015] The high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2 comprises a tubular nozzle main body 49 attached at its upper end to the lower end of the filling cylinder 6, a damper 50 pivoted to the lower end of the nozzle main body 49, a damper opening rod 51 vertically movably supported by the nozzle main body 49, and a spring 52 for biasing the damper opening rod 51 upward.
[0016] The nozzle main body 49 is composed of a downwardly tapered portion 53, and a large-diameter portion 54 and a small-diameter portion 55 extending upward and downward therefrom. The large-diameter portion 54 has an upper end opening having the same diameter as the lower end opening of the filling cylinder 6. The upper end outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 54 is formed with an outer flange 57 which is engageable with an inner flange 56 on the nozzle fastening nut 21. The large-diameter portion 54 has fitted therein a damper opening rod holder 58 in engagement with the tapered portion 53. As shown in Fig. 3, the holder 58 comprises an annular outer peripheral portion 59, a tubular guide portion 60 positioned centrally of the outer peripheral portion 59 and arms 61 connecting the guide portion 60 to the outer peripheral portion 59 and in approximately Y-shaped arrangement when seen from above. Liquid flow spaces are formed between the arms 61.
[0017] The damper 50 resembles an inverted umbrella when in a closed state as shown in Fig. 1 and is centrally divided into a pair of opposed members 62 and 63. Each of the members 62 and 63 is connected to an edge portion of the nozzle lower end by a horizontal pin 64 and is also connected to the lower end of the damper opening rod 51 by a coiled tension spring 65. The damper opening rod 51 comprises a small-diameter portion 66 positioned approximately in the middle of its length, and upper and lower large-diameter portions 67, 68 extending upward and downward from the small-diameter portion 66 in alignment therewith. The small-diameter portion 66 vertically movably extends through the guide portion 60, with the stepped portion between the lower large-diameter portion 68 and the portion 66 bearing against the lower surface of the holder 58. A spring retainer 69 is provided at the lower end of the upper large-diameter portion 67. A coiled compression spring 52 is fitted around the portion 66 between the retainer 69 and the holder 58. The upper large-diameter portion 67 has an upper end projecting into the space in which the piston is moved by the cylinder 38. The descent of the piston 16 causes the valve disk 31 to depress the damper opening rod 51, which in turn opens the damper 50.
[0018] The low-viscosity liquid nozzle 3 comprises a tubular nozzle main body 70, a lower check valve 71 provided in an upper end opening of the nozzle main body 70 and a metal net 72 disposed at the lower end opening of the nozzle main body 70.
[0019] Like the nozzle main body 49 of the nozzle 2, the nozzle main body 70 comprises a tapered portion 73, a large-diameter portion 74 and a small-diameter portion 75. Like the nozzle 2, the upper end outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 74 has an outer flange 76 engageable with the nozzle fastening nut 21. The large-diameter portion 74 has fitted therein a valve stem holder 77 similar to the rod holder 58 and an annular valve seat 78 in intimate contact with the lower surface of the holder 77. The lower check valve 71, which is similar to the upper check valve 30 in construction, comprises a valve disk 79 and a valve stem 80 integral therewith. The valve stem 80 is provided at its upper end with a spring retainer 81, from which a valve stem pushing rod 82 extends upward in alignment with the valve stem 80. A coiled compression spring 83 is provided between the retainer 81 and the valve stem holder 77. The spring 83 biases the valve stem 80 upward, whereby the valve disk 79 is held in intimate contact with the lower surface of the valve seat 78. The upper end of the pushing rod 82 extends upward beyond the broken-line position, shown in Fig. 4, of the lower end of the piston 16. When the lock pin 48 is inserted through the third length adjusting hole 45, the piston 16 is positioned below the lower limit position of the inlet opening-closing stroke. Fig. 4 shows in solid lines the piston 16 in the lower limit position of the inlet opening-closing stroke when the lock pin 48 is inserted through the second length adjusting hole 44. When lowered to the position below the lower limit of the stroke, the piston 16 causes the valve stem pushing rod 82 to open the lower check valve 71.
[0021] When the high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2 is to be used, the nozzle 2 is attached to the filling cylinder 6. The high-viscosity liquid inlet 13 is then opened by causing the fluid pressure cylinder 38 to bring the piston 16 to the upper limit position of the inlet opening-closing stroke, whereupon the liquid within the tank 4 flows through the inlet 13 into the filling cylinder 6, the metering cylinder 7 and the nozzle main body 49. At this time, the air remaining in these portions is smoothly released via the inlet 13, permitting the liquid to fill these portions rapidly. After the portions are filled with the liquid, the piston 23 of the metering cylinder 7 is lowered, allowing a fixed amount of liquid to flow into the cylinder body 22. Subsequently the fluid pressure cylinder 38 is operated to lower the piston 16. The piston 16 closes the inlet 13 and depresses the damper opening rod 67 to open the damper 50. Simultaneously with this, the piston 23 of the metering cylinder 7 is raised, forcing out the fixed amount of liquid from the cylinder body 22 and causing the liquid filling the interior of the nozzle main body 55 to flow out from its lower end opening into an unillustrated container. The piston 16 is then brought to the upper limit position again to close the damper 50 and open the inlet 13, whereby one cycle of filling operation is completed.
[0022] When the low-viscosity liquid nozzle 3 is to be used, the nozzle 3 is attached to the filling cylinder 6. Before filling operation, the lock pin 48 is inserted through the third length adjusting hole 45 to locate the piston 16 at the broken-line position shown in Fig. 4 and below the lower limit of the inlet opening-closing stroke. This forms an air release clearance in the filling cylinder 6 around the piston 16 as already described and opens the lower check valve 71, permitting smooth escape of air from the interior of the apparatus. The interior portions of the apparatus are rapidly filled with the liquid flowing out from the tank 4. After the portions have been filled with the liquid, the lock pin 48 is removed from the third adjusting hole 45 and inserted into the second adjusting hole 44, whereby the piston 16 is raised to the solid-line lower limit position shown in Fig. 4 of the stroke. The piston closes the high-viscosity liquid inlet 13 and is held in hermetic contact with the filling cylinder 6. The piston 23 of the metering cylinder 7 is then lowered, whereupon a negative pressure is produced within the filling cylinder 6 to automatically open the upper check valve 30 and permit the liquid to flow out from the tank 4 into the filling cylinder. Subsequently the piston 23 is raised, closing the upper check valve 30 and producing a positive pressure within the filling cylinder to open the lower check valve 71 and discharge the liquid through the openings of the metal net 72 at the lower end of the nozzle main body 75. Thus, the downward and upward movement of the piston 23 of the metering cylinder 7 alternately opens the upper and lower check valves 30 and 71 to discharge a fixed amount of liquid at a time into an unillustrated container.
1. An apparatus for filling a fixed amount of liquid into containers comprising a
machine main body 1 and a high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2, the machine main body 1
comprising a liquid tank 4, a filling cylinder 6 having an upper end portion extending
through and projecting upward beyond the bottom wall 5 of the liquid tank 4 and communicating
with the tank 4, and a metering cylinder 7 communicating with an intermediate portion
of the filling cylinder 6 between the upper and lower ends thereof, the filling cylinder
6 being formed at the projecting portion with a high-viscosity liquid inlet 13 open
to the interior of the liquid tank 4 and having fitted therein a piston 16 for opening
or closing the inlet 13, the high-viscosity liquid nozzle 2 including a tubular nozzle
main body 49 attached at its upper end to the lower end of the filling cylinder 6,
a damper 50 pivoted to the lower end of the nozzle main body 49, a damper opening
rod 51 vertically movably supported by the nozzle main body 49, and a spring 52 for
biasing the damper opening rod 51 upward, the damper opening rod 51 having a lower
end connected to the damper 50 and an upper end projecting into a space in which the
piston 16 moves down so that the damper opening rod 51 is depressed by the downward
movement of the piston 16 by a distance to open the damper 50.
2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the tubular main body 49 of the high-viscosity
liquid nozzle 2 is removable from the filling cylinder 6, and a low-viscosity liquid
nozzle 3 is prepared for the machine main body 1, the piston 16 having a low-viscosity
liquid inlet 29 provided with an upper check valve 30, the low-viscosity liquid nozzle
3 comprising a tubular nozzle main body 70 removably connectable to the lower end
of the filling cylinder 6 and a lower check valve 71 mounted on the nozzle main body
70.
3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the main body 70 of the low-viscosity
liquid nozzle 3 has a lower end opening provided with a metal net 72.
4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein a fluid pressure cylinder 38 is disposed
above the piston 16 and oriented downward.
5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein the fluid pressure cylinder 38 has a
piston rod 42 connected to the piston 16 by a connecting rod 36 and a member 37 for
adjusting the length of the rod 36 so that the piston 16 can be lowered to a position
below the inlet opening-closing stroke range thereof, and the inner surface 15 of
the filling cylinder 6 includes a diametrically enlarged portion 17 below the high-viscosity
liquid inlet 13 so that an air release clearance is formed in the filling cylinder
6 around the piston 16 when the piston 16 is positioned below its stroke range, the
lower check valve 71 having a valve stem 80 biased upward by a spring 83 and a valve
stem pushing rod 82 connected to the upper end of the valve stem 80, the valve stem
pushing rod 82 having an upper end projecting into a space in which the piston 16
moves down from the inlet opening-closing stroke range thereof so that the lower check
valve 71 is opened by the downward movement of the piston 16 from its stroke range
when the