Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Automatic control of flow cutoff or diversion – Control by test receiver or chamber or by filled preceding...
Patent
1995-12-04
1999-04-27
Walczak, David J.
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Automatic control of flow cutoff or diversion
Control by test receiver or chamber or by filled preceding...
141 95, 141129, B65B 130
Patent
active
058969004
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to a method for filling a liquid volume into receptacles according to the preamble of claim 1.
Such a method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,753. Delay times which are due to the system and occur between the reaching of the predetermined upper and lower switching levels and the final closing of the inlet valve and the outlet valve, respectively, effect uncontrolled after-running, which results in an increase in the liquid volume defined by the height difference between the two switching levels and the cross-section of the metering chamber. It is especially disadvantageous that the errors in the region of the upper and lower switching levels add up and that the errors in the region of the upper switching level are additionally influenced by pressure variations in the liquid feeding line. This known method is therefore not suited for exactly filling, in particular, relatively small receptacles such as beverage cans or beverage bottles.
Although the known method provides for a correction possibility, it is only the temperature of the liquid in the metering chamber that is taken into account. In accordance with the measured temperature the cross-section of the metering chamber is increased or reduced by extending or retracting displacers, whereby the desired weight of the liquid amount to be filled can be kept constant.
It is the object of the present invention to considerably improve the filling accuracy as to volume with the aid of simple means in a method of the above-mentioned type.
This object is attained according to the invention by the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1.
In a method of the invention, observance of the desired liquid volume is considerably improved independently of the flow and pressure conditions during liquid supply, of the delay times due to the system, etc. Hence, it is possible to fill relatively small receptacles with a filling volume of, for instance, 0.33 liter in an exact manner and at a high speed.
Advantageous developments of the invention are shown in the subclaims.
An embodiment of the invention shall now be described with reference to the drawing. The drawing is a vertical section through an apparatus for filling a liquid, such as a beverage, in portions into cans 1 under atmospheric pressure. The apparatus comprises a rotor 3 which rotates about a vertical rotary axis 2 and has the shape of a circular disc or a circular ring. A plurality of similar filling units 34 are mounted in uniformly distributed fashion on the circumference of rotor 3 with a respective valve block 4 and a cavity 5 extending substantially radially relative to rotary axis 2. An inlet valve 6 is provided at the inner end of said cavity and an outlet valve 7 at the outer end thereof. The two valves 6, 7 have each a vertically movable valve body 8, 9 which can be lowered by a separate actuator 10, 11 in the form of a pneumatic cylinder against the force of pressure springs 12, 13. Valve bodies 8, 9 cooperate with downwardly conically tapered valve seats 14, 15 in valve block 4 and are sealingly guided upwardly out of said block.
A short channel 16 which terminates in an annular reservoir 17 for the liquid to be filled follows valve seat 14 of inlet valve 6. Reservoir 17 is secured to the bottom side of rotor 3 and is supplied with liquid via a plurality of radial conduits 18, a rotary distributor 19 which is concentric to rotary axis 2, and a riser 20. The liquid is supplied at sufficient overpressure either via a pump (not shown) with pressure control or via a pre-run container (also not shown) which is arranged at a level higher than that of the filling unit 34.
Valve seat 15 of outlet valve 7 is followed by an outlet nozzle 21 in the form of a short tubular attachment to the bottom side of valve block 3. Outlet nozzle 21 terminates at a distance above the upper edge of a can 1 to be filled, so that it is possible to supply the can in unhindered fashion to a rotary table 22 which rotates together with rotor 3 about rotary axis 2, and to
REFERENCES:
patent: 5090594 (1992-02-01), Randall, Jr. et al.
patent: 5184753 (1993-02-01), Horak
patent: 5480063 (1996-01-01), Keyes et al.
Altweck Willibald
Braunling Hans-Ulrich
Haring Franz
Krones AG Hermann Kronseder Maschinenfabrik
Maust Timothy L.
Walczak David J.
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