CN111333008A

CN111333008A - Cleaning of container closures during filling and closing of containers to be filled

Info

Publication number: CN111333008A
Application number: CN201911220327.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 弗洛里恩·哈贝塞采尔; 约瑟夫·诺特; 约翰娜·尤斯特尔; 弗洛里恩·辛德勒
Original assignee: Krones AG
Current assignee: Krones AG
Priority date: 2018-12-18
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2020-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-03
Also published as: EP3670429B1; CN111333008B; DE102018132625A1; SI3670429T1; EP3670429A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a filling and closing device (1), preferably in a beverage filling system, for filling a container to be filled with a filling product and for subsequently closing the filled container with a closure (2), having: a filling mechanism (20), said filling mechanism (20) being constructed and arranged to introduce said filling product into said container to be filled; a closure mechanism (30), the closure mechanism (30) being constructed and arranged to receive the closure (2) and to close a filled container with the closure (2); and a cleaning assembly (40), the cleaning assembly (40) having at least one cleaning nozzle (42), the cleaning nozzle (42) being constructed and arranged to direct a jet of gas towards a closure (2) held by the closure mechanism (30), preferably towards a lower side of the closure (2).

Description

Cleaning of container closures during filling and closing of containers to be filled

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a filling and closing device and method for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure. The filling and closing device and the method are preferably used in particular in beverage filling plants, for example for filling carbonated filling products, such as beer, mineral water or soft drinks.

Background

In various methods and devices for filling beverage filling plants with filling products, a technique for impact filling of containers is known, which is described, for example, in DE102014104873a 1. In this case, the filling product is provided under an overpressure which empties the container to be filled and introduces the filling product under an overpressure into the container under an underpressure. In order to shorten the settling time of the filling product after filling into the container and to prevent foaming and flooding of the filling product, the container is closed under excess pressure without prior pressure equalization of the interior space of the container with the environment.

For this purpose, it is expedient, as can be seen from the example of DE102014104873a1, to integrate the filling and closing processes as spatially and temporally as possible by arranging them in the same process chamber. The filling means are here embodied to be movable, wherein the container mouth is first pressed onto the filling means to fill the container, and the filling means are subsequently removed to free the closure from position.

For this purpose, the closure is introduced into the process chamber and transferred into the closure cone in each filling/closure cycle. The closing cone for example magnetically receives the closure and securely holds it. Subsequently, the filling mechanism is placed onto the container mouth and the filling process is started. The filling means can be equipped with gas lines and gas valves in addition to the lines and valves for the actual product supply in order to flush, bias and/or create an overpressure or underpressure in the container. At the same time, an overpressure is established in the process chamber. After the container is filled, the filling mechanism is removed and the closure cone places the closure on the container mouth and closes the container.

Wear between the closures can occur during processing of the closures, for example during sorting and transport. Such wear particles and other foreign bodies are carried along and thus enter the container to be filled. In order to prevent contaminated products from entering the market, various techniques are known for inspecting a closed filled container and ejecting the filled container if necessary.

It is also known to flush the container closure with a gas, for example an inert gas or nitrogen, before placing it on the container to be closed. This flushing process serves to evacuate possible oxygen in the oxygen-sensitive product from the enclosure space (and the headspace of the container). Cleaning of the container closure is also carried out by flushing. Thus, DE102012104765a1 describes a device for closing containers, which has a nozzle holder with upwardly directed nozzles for blowing flushing gas into the closure and downwardly directed nozzles for blowing flushing gas into the head space of the container.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved filling and closing device and an improved method for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure, preferably in a beverage filling plant, in particular to improve the purity during filling and closing of the container and thus to reduce the probability of the filled container being soiled or contaminated with foreign particles.

This object is achieved by a filling and closing device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of claim 9. Advantageous developments emerge from the dependent claims, the following figures of the invention and the description of preferred embodiments.

The filling and closing device according to the invention is used for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure. The filling and closing device is preferably used in beverage filling plants, for example for filling carbonated filling products, such as beer, mineral water or soft drinks, because the requirements for hygiene and purity are particularly high in food processing.

Therefore, a filling and closing device is proposed, preferably in a beverage filling plant, for filling a container to be filled with a filling product and for subsequently closing the filled container with a closure. The filling and closing device has a filling mechanism that is constructed and arranged to introduce a filling product into the container to be filled. Additionally, a closure mechanism is provided that is constructed and arranged to receive the closure and to close the filled container with the closure. And a cleaning assembly is provided having at least one cleaning nozzle constructed and arranged to direct a jet of gas at the closure held by the closure mechanism, preferably at the underside of the closure.

The gas jet may preferably be carbon dioxide, nitrogen (N)₂) And/or sterile air.

The lower side of the closure is understood here to be the side which, when closed, faces the interior of the container.

By forcing the closure with a jet of gas, possible foreign particles are removed from the closure, thereby reducing the probability of contamination of the filled container. The gas jet is particularly preferably directed at the lower side of the closure, since this lower side will come into direct contact with the filling product after closure.

In addition, the structure of the filling and closing device allows for the closure cleaning and filling to be carried out simultaneously or overlapping in time. By this parallel implementation, the overall process time for filling the container and cleaning the closure can be reduced. The improvement in hygiene and purity during filling and closing is also optimized in that the closure is cleaned or finally cleaned immediately before closing, i.e. in the state in which the closure is already held by the closing means.

Preferably, the filling device has a mouth portion which can be brought into fluid communication with the container for filling the container, particularly preferably placed on the container mouth in a sealable manner. In this way, possible cleaned-off particles can be effectively prevented from entering the interior of the container during cleaning. In order to ensure that the mouth section rests reliably on the container mouth, the mouth section can have a centering cup with a suitably shaped pressing rubber.

Preferably, the filling and closing device has a treatment chamber, wherein a mouth section of the filling means is arranged in the treatment chamber for filling the containers, and also a closing means having a closure is arranged in the treatment chamber for cleaning the closure and for closing the containers. In other words, the filling of the container, the cleaning of the closure and the closing of the closure take place in the process chamber, whereby the filling/closing process is particularly efficient and hygienically feasible. In addition, the atmosphere in the environment of the container mouth can be checked in this way, in particular during the critical period between the end of the filling process and the complete closure of the container.

Preferably, the process chamber is sealable from the external environment. Furthermore, the process chamber preferably has a gas supply which is provided to generate an overpressure in the process chamber and/or to evacuate the process chamber. During the filling process and the closure cleaning and closing process, the process chamber is preferably substantially completely sealed with respect to all sides, whereby a suitable internal pressure can be established, which preferably corresponds approximately to the filling pressure. In this way, even in the case of impact filling with a carbonated filling product, a bubble formation after the opening section has been released from the container opening can be avoided.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the gas supply of the process chamber is realized partially or completely by a cleaning assembly, in particular a cleaning nozzle. The at least one cleaning nozzle in this way takes on two functions in synergy: a) cleaning a closure held by a closure mechanism; b) a desired atmosphere is established in the process chamber. In this way, the filling and closing device can be simplified in construction, thereby leading to an increase in reliability and a reduction in maintenance costs. In addition, the conventional gas supply for the process chamber can be added with a cleaning function with few structural modifications.

Preferably, the cleaning assembly has a gas line which is in fluid communication with the cleaning nozzle and is arranged together with the cleaning nozzle in a filling mechanism housing of the filling mechanism. In this case, the cleaning assembly or a part thereof is integrated in the filling mechanism. In the case of the filling and closing device, this integration is particularly advantageous since the filling means is located in the vicinity of the closing means during filling, so that the cleaning nozzle can direct the gas jet at the closure without additional constructional expenditure.

Preferably, the filling means is at least partially movable for this purpose and is arranged such that the filling means can be positioned for filling the container such that the cleaning nozzle directs the gas jet during filling of the container towards the closure held by the closure means, preferably towards the underside of said closure. The movability of the filling means is thus used in conjunction for filling and releasing the container mouth region for the closure means and for positioning and possible orientation of the cleaning nozzle.

For introducing and metering the filling product into the container, the filling mechanism preferably has a filling product line and a filling valve. Furthermore, means for transporting and dispensing additives and/or gases, such as gas lines and gas valves, can be arranged in the filling means housing. By means of possible means for transporting and distributing the gas, it is also possible to flush and/or bias the container with a gas, such as an inert gas, nitrogen and/or carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, the container interior can be adjusted to a desired pressure by the device, for example, the container interior can be emptied. The filling product line is embodied, for example, as an annular line which runs approximately concentrically with the centrally arranged gas line. It should be noted that the gas valve and the filling valve may be operatively connected to each other, so that, for example, an actuator for common use may be provided to simplify the structure of the filling mechanism and to improve reliability.

Preferably, the closure mechanism has a closure head for receiving the closure, wherein the closure head can have a magnet for receiving the closure, whereby the closure can be centrally and reliably received and placed on the container mouth in a structurally simple manner, in particular when the closure is a metal closure. Alternatively, the closure may be grasped and held by suitable grasping or clamping means, such that the concepts described herein may also be implemented for plastic closures, rotary closures, and the like.

The above object is also achieved by a method for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure, preferably in a beverage filling plant. The method is preferably used in beverage filling plants, such as filling and closing devices, for example for filling carbonated filling products, such as beer, mineral water or soft drinks, because the requirements for hygiene and purity are particularly high in food processing.

Accordingly, a method is proposed, preferably in a beverage filling system, for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure, having the following steps: receiving the sealer through a sealing mechanism; introducing a filling product into the container to be filled by means of a filling mechanism to fill the container; cleaning the sealer by means of a cleaning assembly having at least one cleaning nozzle directing a jet of gas towards the sealer held by the closure mechanism, preferably towards the lower side of the sealer; and closing the container with the closure after filling is completed.

The features, technical effects, advantages and embodiments that have been described with reference to the filling and closing device are similarly applicable to the method.

Thus, during filling, that is to say during introduction of the filling product into the container, cleaning of the closure is performed. The term "period" herein includes not only approximately the same time period but also overlapping time periods. By this parallel implementation, the overall process time for filling the container and cleaning the closure can be reduced. The improvement in hygiene and purity during filling and closing is also optimized in that the closure is cleaned or finally cleaned immediately before closing, i.e. in the state in which the closure is already held by the closing means.

Preferably, the mouth section of the filling mechanism is sealingly placed on the container mouth before the filling product is introduced into the container. In this way, possible cleaned-off particles can be effectively prevented from entering the interior of the container during cleaning. In order to ensure that the mouth section rests reliably on the container mouth, the mouth section can have a centering cup with a suitably shaped pressing rubber.

Preferably, the treatment chamber surrounding the mouth section and sealed from the outside environment is brought to a specific pressure by the gas supply, preferably an overpressure relative to the outside environment of the treatment chamber, before and/or during introduction of the filling product into the container. During the filling process, the closure cleaning and the closing process, the process chamber is preferably substantially completely sealed with respect to all sides, whereby a suitable internal pressure can be established, which preferably corresponds to the filling pressure. In this way, even in the case of impact filling with carbonated filling products, a bubble overflow after the loosening of the mouth section can be avoided.

Preferably, the pressure build-up in the process chamber is achieved wholly or partly by the gas jet of the cleaning nozzle. The cleaning nozzle in this way takes two functions in synergy: a) cleaning a closure held by a closure mechanism; b) a desired atmosphere is established in the process chamber. In this way, the filling and closing device can be simplified in construction, thereby leading to an increase in reliability and a reduction in maintenance costs. In addition, the conventional gas supply for the process chamber can be added with a cleaning function with few structural modifications.

Preferably, after the filling product has been introduced into the container, the mouth section is removed from the container mouth and removed, and the closure mechanism is then lowered with the received and cleaned closure to the container mouth in order to close the container with the closure. The movability of the filling means is thus used in conjunction with the filling and release of the container mouth region for the closure means.

Preferably, the cleaning assembly has a gas line which is in fluid communication with the cleaning nozzle and is arranged together with the cleaning nozzle in a filling mechanism housing of the filling mechanism, wherein the filling mechanism is moved and positioned before the filling product is introduced into the container in order to simultaneously perform filling of the container and cleaning of the closure. The movability of the filling means is thus used in conjunction for filling and releasing the container mouth region for the closure means and for positioning and possible orientation of the cleaning nozzle. In this case, the cleaning assembly or a part thereof is integrated in the filling mechanism. In the case of the filling and closing device, this integration is particularly advantageous since the filling means is located in the vicinity of the closing means during filling, so that the cleaning nozzle can direct the gas jet at the closure without additional constructional expenditure.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments. The features described herein may be implemented alone or in combination with one or more of the features described above, provided that such features are not mutually inconsistent. Herein, the preferred embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, showing a section of a filling and closing device with a cleaning device for cleaning the closure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 1.

In this context, fig. 1 shows a cross section of a filling and closing device 1 for filling a container (not shown in fig. 1) with a filling product and closing the container with a closure 2 in a beverage filling plant.

The filling and closing device 1 has a filling means 20, which filling means 20 projects into the process chamber 10 in the process stage shown in fig. 1. The filling mechanism 20 includes: means for transporting and filling the filling product, such as a filling product line 23 and a filling valve arranged at the lower end of the filling product line 23; and means for transporting and dispensing gas, such as a gas line 21 and a gas valve 22, are housed in the filling mechanism housing 24.

The container may be flushed and/or biased with a gas, such as an inert gas, nitrogen, and/or carbon dioxide, by the means for transporting and dispensing the gas. Furthermore, the container interior can be adjusted to a desired pressure by the device, for example, the container interior can be emptied. It should be noted that of course a plurality of gas lines 21 may be provided for different gases and purposes.

The gas valve 22 comprises a gas valve cone 22a and a gas valve seat 22b, which gas valve cone 22a and the gas valve seat 22b are arranged to regulate the gas flow. For this purpose, the gas valve cone 22a can be switched by means of an actuator, not shown.

The filling product line 23 is embodied, for example, as an annular line which runs approximately concentrically with the gas line 21. The supply of gas and filling product and the removal of gas for emptying the container 100 is performed by means of sources, valves, actuators, etc. which are not described in detail. It should be noted that the gas valve 22 and the filling valve may be operatively connected to each other, so that, for example, an actuator for common use may be provided to simplify the structure of the filling mechanism 20 and to improve reliability.

The filling means 20 has a mouth section 5 at the discharge end of the medium, which mouth section 5 gathers the medium together and is arranged such that the mouth section 5 can be placed sealingly on the container mouth. For this purpose, the mouth section 25 according to the present embodiment has a centering cup with a suitably shaped pressing rubber 25 a.

The filling means 20 is arranged to be at least partially movable, so that the arm-shaped section of the filling member 20 shown in fig. 1 can be moved into the treatment chamber 10 and either retracted into it or even completely removed from it. This makes it possible to press the container mouth against the mouth section 25 of the filling means 20 for the filling process and to remove the filling means 20 to such an extent that the container is closable in the treatment chamber 10, if necessary after the filling process has been completed.

In order to ensure the movability of the filling means 20 without exposing the atmosphere of the process chamber 10 to uncontrolled external influences, means for sealing are accordingly provided, which are not shown in fig. 1. For example, the pressure in the treatment chamber after the filling process has been completed can be greater than the pressure in the external environment, which in this case does not have to be atmospheric pressure, so that the penetration of contaminants into the treatment chamber 10 can be virtually excluded. Alternatively or additionally, the process chamber 10 may be located in a clean room or constitute such a clean room.

The closing of the container is performed by a closing mechanism 30, which closing mechanism 30 is part of the filling and closing device 1. The closing mechanism 30 has a closing head 31, which closing head 31 projects into the process chamber 10 and is movable substantially vertically in the present embodiment. As with the filling mechanism 20, the closing mechanism 30 is sealed with respect to the walls of the process chamber 10 in order to avoid contamination or uncontrolled destruction of the atmosphere inside the process chamber 10 by external influences.

The closure mechanism 30 is constructed and arranged to receive and retain the closure 2 on the closure head 31. For this purpose, the closure head 31 may have a magnet, whereby the closure 2 can be centrally received and placed on the container mouth to close the container in a structurally simple manner, in particular when the closure 2 is a metal closure. Alternatively, the closure 2 may be gripped, held and applied to the container mouth by a suitable gripping or clamping means, so that the concepts described herein are also applicable to plastic closures, rotary closures and the like.

The closing head 31 is provided so as to be movable in an upward/downward direction, wherein the closing head 31 is arranged substantially coaxially with the container mouth, so that the closure 2 can be reliably applied to the container.

The transfer of the closure 2 to the closing head 31 can be carried out in various ways. For example, the sealers 2 can be introduced into the process chamber 10 in a first step for each filling/sealing cycle, for example from a sorting unit and a supply tank. To this end, the processing chamber 10 may be part of a closing mechanism 30 and perform a relative movement with respect to a closure supply, for example a supply trough or a transfer arm, wherein the closure head 31 picks up and holds the closure 2 from the closure supply.

To fill the container, the container is raised and sealed with respect to the process chamber 10.

At least the container sealingly received in the process chamber 10 with its mouth is sealingly pressed against the filling means 20 removed to the filling position, or the filling means 20 is sealingly pressed against the mouth of the container. The mouth section 25 of the filling means 20 therefore marks the end position of the container stroke. The closing head 31 receives the sealer 2 and moves into the processing chamber 10. The sealing of the treatment chamber 10 with respect to the environment and with respect to the container or its neck region or mouth region can be achieved by inflating one or more seals.

The process chamber 10 itself preferably does not perform a lifting motion. After the filling process is finished, the filling mechanism 20 is retracted and the closing head 31 continues to move down onto the container mouth to close the container.

The filling and closing device 1 has a cleaning assembly 40, which cleaning assembly 40 in the present exemplary embodiment simultaneously realizes the gas supply of the process chamber 10 and is preferably at least partially integrated into the filling mechanism 20.

The cleaning assembly 40 comprises a gas line 41 and one or more cleaning nozzles 42, which gas line 41 can be embodied as a hole in the filling mechanism housing 24. The cleaning assembly 40, and in particular the cleaning nozzle 42, is positioned and oriented such that the discharged gas jet impinges on the lower side of the closure 2 when the filling mechanism 20 is in the filling position. As gas, carbon dioxide is preferably used, however other media, such as sterile air, may also be used.

The supply of gas into the process chamber 10, and thus also the cleaning of the closure 2, is preferably carried out during the filling process. The entire process can be optimized by such a parallel implementation. During the filling process and the closure cleaning, the process chamber 10 is sealed with respect to all sides, so that a suitable internal pressure is built up in the process chamber 10. This internal pressure preferably corresponds to the filling pressure or saturation pressure of carbon dioxide which is possible in the case of filling with a carbon dioxide-containing filling product, in order to prevent foaming or flooding of the filling product after the end of the filling process.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the gas supply for the process chamber 10 and the cleaning assembly 40 are integrated by having the process chamber 10 and the cleaning assembly 40 implemented together by a gas line 41 and a cleaning nozzle 42. The cleaning action is ensured by the position and orientation of the cleaning nozzle 42. This means that when the gas line 41 is opened, there is a high pressure difference, and the gas flows out from the cleaning nozzle 42 into the process chamber 10 at a high speed. However, the pressure difference decreases with time, whereby the outlet velocity decreases to pressure equilibrium. Therefore, the cleaning effect is maximized at the start of gas supply.

As an alternative to the overall embodiment, it is also possible to separate the two functions, i.e. the gas supply of the process chamber 10 and the cleaning of the enclosure 2, by applying different means for gas supply and cleaning. Furthermore, these devices do not have to be integrated into the filling means 20. For example, the gas supply of the process chamber 10 can be realized by separate lines, valves, etc., whereas the gas line 41 and the cleaning nozzle 42 are provided and optimized only for cleaning the closure 2. In this case, the gas line 41 and the cleaning nozzle 42 are part of a cleaning assembly 40, which cleaning assembly 40 is at least partially separate and distinct from the gas supply of the process chamber 10. This can be achieved, for example, in that the outlet speed of the gas jet for the closure cleaning remains constant or does not drop very strongly as the internal pressure of the process chamber 2 increases, in order to counteract the reduction in the cleaning action.

If the container is now filled, the closure 2 is cleaned and the interior space of the process chamber 10 reaches the desired pressure, the filling mechanism 20 can be retracted and the closing head 31 can continue its downward movement until the container mouth is closed by reaching it.

By the cleaning process of the closure 2 during the filling process, possible foreign particles on the inside of the closure 2 can be removed, thereby reducing the probability of contamination of the filled container. By applying a force to the closure by means of a gas jet, particles are removed from the closure 2 and subsequently located in the interior of the process chamber 10. In this process chamber 10, the container to be filled is pressed tightly against the mouth section 25 during cleaning, so that the cleaned-off particles are prevented from entering the interior of the container. In addition, the improvement in reliability and purity in terms of filling and closing the containers is optimized in that the cleaning or final cleaning of the closure 2 takes place as late as possible, i.e. in the treatment chamber 10 itself and during the filling process.

Where applicable, all individual features shown in the embodiments can be combined with each other and/or interchanged without departing from the scope of the invention.

Description of reference numerals:

1 filling and closing device

2 closure

10 processing chamber

20 filling mechanism

21 gas pipeline

22 gas valve

22a gas valve cone

22b gas valve seat

23 fill product line

24 filling mechanism casing

25 mouth segment

25a pressing rubber

30 closure mechanism

31 closing head

40 cleaning assembly

41 gas pipeline

42 cleaning nozzle

Claims

1. A filling and closing device (1), preferably in a beverage filling plant, for filling a container to be filled with a filling product and for subsequently closing the filled container with a closure (2), having:

a filling mechanism (20), said filling mechanism (20) being constructed and arranged to introduce said filling product into said container to be filled;

a closure mechanism (30), the closure mechanism (30) being constructed and arranged to receive the closure (2) and to close a filled container with the closure (2); and

a cleaning assembly (40), the cleaning assembly (40) having at least one cleaning nozzle (42), the cleaning nozzle (42) being constructed and arranged to direct a jet of gas towards an obturator (2) held by the obturator mechanism (30), preferably towards a lower side of the obturator (2).

2. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the filling means (20) has a mouth section (25), the mouth section (25) being connectable in fluid communication with the container for filling the container, preferably being placed sealably on a container mouth of the container.

3. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 2, wherein a process chamber (10) is provided, wherein the mouth section (25) of the filling means (20) is arranged in the process chamber (10) for filling the containers, and the closing means (30) has a closing head (31) for receiving the closure (2), wherein the closing head (31) can also be arranged in the process chamber (10).

4. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 3, wherein the process chamber (10) is sealable with respect to the external environment and has a gas supply constructed and arranged to generate an overpressure and/or a negative pressure in the process chamber (10).

5. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 4, wherein the gas supply of the process chamber (10) is realized partially or totally by the cleaning assembly (40).

6. Filling and sealing device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning assembly (40) has a gas line (41), the gas line (41) being in fluid communication with the cleaning nozzle (42) and being arranged together with the cleaning nozzle (42) in a filling means housing (24) of the filling means (20).

7. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 6, wherein the filling means (20) are at least partially movable and are arranged such that the filling means (20) can be positioned for filling the container such that the cleaning nozzle (42) directs the gas jet during filling of the container towards the closure (2) held by the closing means (30), preferably towards the lower side of the closure (2).

8. Filling and sealing device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the closure mechanism (30), preferably the closure head (31) of the closure mechanism (30), has a magnet for receiving a closure (2).

9. Method for filling a container with a filling product and closing the container with a closure (2), preferably in a beverage filling plant, having the following steps:

-receiving the closure (2) by means of a closure mechanism (30);

introducing the filling product into the container to be filled by means of a filling mechanism (20) to fill the container;

cleaning the closure (2) by means of a cleaning assembly (40), the cleaning assembly (40) having at least one cleaning nozzle (42), the cleaning nozzle (42) directing a gas jet at the closure (2) held by the closure mechanism (30), preferably at the lower side of the closure (2); and

after the filling is completed, the container is closed with the closure (2).

10. Filling and closing device (1) according to claim 9, wherein cleaning of the closure (2) is performed during introduction of the filling product into the container.

11. Method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that a mouth section (25) of the filling means (20) is sealingly placed on the container mouth before the filling product is introduced into the container.

12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that a process chamber (10) surrounding the mouth section (25) and sealed from the outside environment is brought to a specific pressure, preferably an overpressure, by a gas supply before and/or during the introduction of the filling product into the container.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the pressure build-up in the process chamber (10) is achieved wholly or partly by the gas jet of the cleaning nozzle (42).

14. Method according to any one of claims 11 or 13, characterized in that, after the introduction of the filling product into the container, the mouth section (25) is removed and moved away from the container mouth and subsequently the closure mechanism (30) is lowered with the received and cleaned closure (2) to the container mouth in order to close the container with the closure (2).

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that the cleaning assembly (40) has a gas line (41), the gas line (41) being in fluid communication with the cleaning nozzle (42) and being arranged together with the cleaning nozzle (42) in a filling mechanism housing (24) of the filling mechanism (20), and that the filling mechanism (20) is moved and positioned before introducing the filling product into the container, so as to simultaneously perform filling of the container and cleaning of the closure (2).