Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With conveying means to supply successive receivers – Conveyer with additional receiver conveying or manipulating...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-09
2002-08-13
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With conveying means to supply successive receivers
Conveyer with additional receiver conveying or manipulating...
C141S089000, C141S091000, C141S092000, C141S129000, C141S169000, C141S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06431227
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for filling containers with free-flowing products, in particular liquid foodstuffs with a limited shelf life, under aseptic conditions, comprising a housing with an inlet for containers which are to be filled and with an outlet for filled containers, a plurality of separate compartments, which are arranged inside the housing and comprise at least a sterilization compartment with sterilization station and a filling compartment with filling station, and a conveyor system, which is arranged inside the housing, for intermittently conveying the containers, along a conveyor path past the appropriate filling stations in the compartments, adjacent compartments being separated from one another by a partition with at least one passage opening for the containers to pass through.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A device of this nature, which is also known as a linear filler, to distinguish it from rotary filling devices, is known, for example, from EP-A-0 342 690 as a so-called “fill-and-pack in a non-germ atmosphere machine”. In this known device, the conveyor system comprises two separate conveyor devices. In a sterilization zone, the containers are conveyed with the aid of carriers, which carriers are fixedly connected to chains arranged on either side of the conveyor path, while in a subsequent filling zone the containers, which rest by means of an upper flanged edge on parallel guides, are moved onwards with the aid of one or more rod mechanisms which comprise a toothed comb element.
In general, the containers have to be filled under aseptic conditions, on account of the risk of the containers or the product with which the containers are to be filled being affected or contaminated, in whatever form, with all the associated risks to the health of the (end) user. Therefore, it is customary to apply a slight superatmospheric pressure in the filling zone, so that it is impossible for any unpurified air to enter the filling zone from the outside or from the sterilization zone. The conveyor system can generally also be used to guide the carriers together with containers past any other processing stations, for example a container-closing station which adjoins the filling station and in which, for example, containers in the form of bottles are provided with a cap.
One of the drawbacks of using chains as a component of a conveyor system which is used in particular in the foodstuffs industry is that they are difficult to clean and sterilize, and consequently inspection services and other licensing authorities view and consider the use of chains in aseptic environments with considerable suspicion and distrust. Inevitable particles worn off the chains as a result of use exacerbate this problem. In addition, chains have the drawback that if one of the chains is no longer functioning correctly, for example if it breaks, the entire machine comes to a standstill in order to allow repair work to be carried out.
Another problem which occurs in conventional filling devices when switching from one type of container to a different type of container is that the aseptic conditions are lost and consequently, after the device has been reset in order to allow the different type of container to be filled, a relatively long preparation time is still required in order to recreate the aseptic conditions.
The object of the invention is to avoid the abovementioned drawbacks and to provide solutions to the above problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the device according to the invention, for this purpose the conveyor system for intermittently conveying the containers from the inlet to the outlet comprises a guide assembly for guiding at least two carriers for carrying one or more containers, at least one cutout for positioning and retaining a container being provided in mutually facing longitudinal edges of adjacent carriers, and a pusher mechanism with a chainless drive for displacing the carriers in the guide assembly each time, a container guide, which is arranged beneath the conveyor path of the containers, for supporting the containers, and a blocking device for temporarily blocking the movement of a carrier which is situated at the outlet during operation.
The filling device according to the invention comprises a pusher mechanism which is driven without chains for intermittently displacing carriers in a guide assembly. A pusher mechanism of this nature can be arranged outside the usual sterilization zone of the filling device, so that during operation only the carriers and the containers to be filled have to be sterilized. The use of separate carriers which are displaced along or in the guide assembly has the further advantage that if one carrier or a container accommodated therein becomes defective, only that one carrier has to be removed and/or replaced. Therefore, the standstill time and the ease of repair are considerably improved. Furthermore, the use of separate carriers offers the advantage that the device is suitable for filling a plurality of types of container, for example containers of a different shape or different volume. When changing over from one type of container to another type of container with a different cross section, it is merely necessary to replace the carriers, resulting in relatively short changeover times. A set of two carriers which are used in the device according to the invention are provided, on the mutually facing longitudinal edges, with at least one cutout. Two opposite cutouts of adjacent carriers interact with one another in such a way that, when the pusher mechanism at the beginning of the conveyor path and the blocking device at the end of the conveyor path have been activated and the carriers are held between them, they clamp a container in place. The blocking device also has the function of preventing a carrier which is situated at the outlet from being pushed out of the guide assembly, so that it will instead be retained. The device according to the invention will usually employ a large number of carriers, of which both longitudinal edges are provided with one cutout, and preferably a plurality of cutouts. The container guide, which extends from the beginning of the conveyor path to its end, ensures that the containers are engaged of at the correct height and that in the unclamped state the containers do not fall onto the ground. The containers may be bottles, made from glass or plastic, cardboard or metal packages, such as packs and cans. The containers themselves are in no way limited to a specific shape or size. The shape of a cutout in a carrier is adapted to the shape of the container to be filled, which may be round, square, rectangular, oval, etc.
It should be noted that EP-A-0 475 827 has per se disclosed a conveyor device for conveying carriers holding a container, which is guided past a plurality of treatment stations, wherein a drive in the form of a connecting-rod mechanism with a roller (système bielle-galet) is used.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the carriers used in the invention are already known per se from EP-A-286 514, in which carriers which interact with one another, referred to in the said patent as “demi-plaques”, are pivotably attached to two independent chain systems.
The pusher mechanism with a chainless drive which is used in the device according to the invention may be a servo-controlled motor with an eccentric arm which executes a reciprocating movement each time. It is advantageous to use a piston/cylinder assembly which is arranged at the beginning of the conveyor path of the conveyor system at the inlet of the device and the piston of which can move to and fro in the machine direction. The piston/cylinder assembly may be of either the pneumatic or the hydraulic type. Preferably, the stroke length of the piston/cylinder assembly is equal to the dimension of the carrier, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor path (i.e. the machine direction). In this way, during operation a carrier is in each case advanced by one position from the beginning of the conveyor
Hoffmann & Baron , LLP
Maust Timothy L.
Stork Food and Dairy Systems B.V.
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