Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Diverse fluid containing pressure filling systems involving... – Gas control or supply varied – shifted or supplemented during...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-17
2001-03-13
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Diverse fluid containing pressure filling systems involving...
Gas control or supply varied, shifted or supplemented during...
C141S114000, C141S313000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199601
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
A method and apparatus for filling flexible pouches with fluids and powders and, more particularly, a method and apparatus having a hood providing a gas curtain for covering a pouch during the filling process.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Flexible pouches formed of plastic or foil are used for packaging fluids. These pouches are being used for a variety of different fluids, including liquids, granular material, powders and the like. The pouches are typically triangular in shape having a flat base and tapering towards a top. The pouches rest on the base and the beverage is dispensed from the top.
Many liquids and dry products, such as powders, must be packaged in the absence of oxygen. All oxygen is removed from the pouch before filling and the pouch is maintained in an oxygen-reduced environment while being filled. The pouches are placed in a closed chamber which is sealed and evacuated to remove oxygen. The chamber is then filled with a gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide. The pouches are then filled in the gas filled environment of the chamber. However, when there is any problem with the fill process, the production line must be stopped while the chamber is opened and the problem corrected. Then the chamber must be reevacuated and filled with gas before continuing the filling process. This can result in lengthy delays in the packaging process.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for filling flexible pouches which does not require an evacuation chamber. It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for filling flexible pouches which minimizes the down time when there is a problem in the filling process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, these objects and other advantages are provided by a pouch filling apparatus having a gas dispersing hood extending over a portion of a turret. The hood disperses gas continuously to form a gas curtain which covers the top of the pouch. While under the hood, the pouch is purged at an upstream purging station with a diving nozzle and moved to a filling station where a fill tube dispenses products such as a liquid into the pouch. The pouch is moved by the turret to a downstream purging station where the top of the pouch over the filled product is purged and the pouch is closed.
The hood includes an inner wall and an outer wall which extend downwardly from an upper wall. A dispersion screen extends between the inner and outer walls beneath the upper wall to form a chamber for holding pressurized gas. The dispersion screen has holes which form jets of gas which form a gas curtain. The turret moves the pouches along a passageway formed under the dispersion screen through the gas curtain from the upstream purge station to the fill station and then to the downstream purge station.
The upstream purging station includes a pair of diving nozzles mechanically lowered into the pouch to inject pressurized gas into the pouch to purge oxygen. The fill station includes a fill tube mechanically lowered into the pouch and liquid is dispensed into the pouch. A collar is mounted to the hood to extend about the fill tube. The collar is connected to the supply of pressurized gas and directs gas around the tube to act as a seal.
The downstream purging station includes a second pair of diving nozzles which are mechanically lowered into the top of the pouch above the filled liquid. The pouch is closed and the nozzles inject gas into the pouch to further purge any remaining oxygen from the pouch. The pouch is then moved from under the hood to a sealing station where the pouch is sealed and then, finally, to a discharge station where the pouch is unloaded from the turret. If any problems occur during the fill process the problem can be corrected without stopping production while evacuating a chamber.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4326568 (1982-04-01), Burton et al.
patent: 4848421 (1989-07-01), Froese et al.
patent: 4999978 (1991-03-01), Kohlbach et al.
patent: 5267591 (1993-12-01), Wakabayashi et al.
patent: 5485714 (1996-01-01), Montalvo
Douglas Steven O.
Gifford, Krass, Groh Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
Profile Packaging, Inc.
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