Package making – Methods – Filling preformed receptacle
Patent
1997-08-01
1998-10-13
Coan, James F.
Package making
Methods
Filling preformed receptacle
53486, 53487, B65B 304, B65B 6124
Patent
active
058195076
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of filling a packaging container.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
Conventional packaging containers formed of a resin are often charged with a liquid, e.g., a liquid food, and the filled container is then sealed with a lid. A filling apparatus of a rotary type is generally used for this purpose. Such filling apparatus include a turntable on which the container is placed and is displaced by rotation of the turntable. The filling apparatus also includes a charging station and a sealing station. In the charging station, a liquid food is charged in the container through a top opening of the container. In the sealing portion, the top end of the container is sealed with a lid.
The container on the turntable, after having been filled with the liquid food in the charging station, is displaced to the sealing station with the top end remaining opened. Since the turntable rotates at a relatively high speed to accelerate the filling operation, the liquid food contained in the container is sometimes spilled from the opening due to vibration, etc.
To avoid spillage and related problems, it is a general practice to use a container having a top end that is located at a predetermined height above the level of the liquid food charged in the container so that a head space is defined in an upper portion of the container. It is typical to use an intruding lid member, i.e., a lid having a portion that intrudes into the packaging container to effect full filling.
In the above-described conventional method for filling a packaging container, however, a high charging accuracy is required to perform the full filling. Additionally, in sealing the container with the intruding lid member in the full filled state, the pressure inside the container is increased by the liquid food which is urged to overflow. Moreover, during sealing with the intruding lid member, the resin forming the container is often melted so that the volume of the container is reduced. This also results in the increase of the internal pressure of the container. As a consequence, great forces are imposed on the sealed portion and the rest of the container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of filling a packaging container which can solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional packaging container filling method, which can reduce costs, and which does not cause excessive force to be applied to the sealed portions and to the whole of the container.
According to an aspect of the present invention, in a method of filling a packaging container, a liquid food is charged in a container formed of a resin, the container having an opening at a top end thereof and a deformable portion in a wall thereof such that the inside volume thereof can be adjusted, a lid is placed on the top end of the container, and a sealing device is lowered from a position above the lid to seal the upper end of the container with the lid.
According to another aspect of the invention, during sealing, the deformable portion of the container is deformed to elevate the surface of the liquid food to a level adjacent to the top end of the container.
When the container according to the present invention is disposed at a filling station of a turntable and is filled with, e.g., a liquid food, and the deformable portion has not been deformed to decrease the volume of the container, e.g., by pushing upward on a deformable portion in a bottom portion of the container, a space is defined between the liquid level of the liquid food and the top end of the container. The container is then displaced on the turntable to a sealing station where the top end of the container is sealed with the lid. Since the space defined between the liquid level of the liquid food and the top end of the container is retained during the displacement of the container from the filling station to the sealing station, the liquid food does not overflow from the opening by vibration, etc. even when the turntable is rotated at a relatively high speed. As a co
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Kaneko Masamichi
Konno Hidetoshi
Satoyoshi Junichi
Coan James F.
Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
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