EP0911260B1 - Filling head for an aseptic filling machine in particular for flexible containers with a pressure cap. - Google Patents

Filling head for an aseptic filling machine in particular for flexible containers with a pressure cap. Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0911260B1
EP0911260B1 EP98830619A EP98830619A EP0911260B1 EP 0911260 B1 EP0911260 B1 EP 0911260B1 EP 98830619 A EP98830619 A EP 98830619A EP 98830619 A EP98830619 A EP 98830619A EP 0911260 B1 EP0911260 B1 EP 0911260B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
chamber
spout
grippers
filling
filling head
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP98830619A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0911260A1 (en
Inventor
Franco Dall'argine
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Manzini SpA
Original Assignee
SIG Manzini SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by SIG Manzini SpA filed Critical SIG Manzini SpA
Publication of EP0911260A1 publication Critical patent/EP0911260A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0911260B1 publication Critical patent/EP0911260B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B55/00—Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging
    • B65B55/02—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages
    • B65B55/027—Packaging in aseptic chambers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B55/00—Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging
    • B65B55/02—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages
    • B65B55/022—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages of flexible containers having a filling and dispensing spout, e.g. containers of the "bag-in-box"-type

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a filling head for an aseptic filling machine in particular for flexible containers with a pressure cap.
  • the container or bag is provided pre-sterilized internally, but the outside of the spout and the cap are exposed to the contaminated external environment.
  • Aseptic filling machines for filling these bags are already known, said filling machines comprising one or more filling heads which are fixed onto groups movable in the vertical direction so as to fill, from the bottom, the containers, which generally have a capacity of 1000 litres, and avoid any tension in the zone where the spout is welded onto the bag.
  • Said filling heads are located inside a sterile filling chamber which is kept under a steam atmosphere and inside which chamber the operations of opening, filling and closing are performed in sequence.
  • a pre-chamber or bell for sterilizing the spout either with steam at 100°C or with sterilizing liquids, such as hydrogen peroxide, at a lower temperature.
  • the pre-chamber which incorporates grippers for opening and closing the cap, is supported by a vertical shaft able to perform two possible types of movement: a rotational movement and a vertical translation movement.
  • the rotational movement is used to bring the pre-chamber from a position where it is located above the spout gripping means into a position located away from said means during the bag filling stage, while the vertical translation has the function of extracting the cap from the spout or reinserting it.
  • the walls which form the pre-chamber are provided with channels for supplying the steam.
  • the object of the present invention is that of overcoming all the drawbacks mentioned above and in particular of being able to verify constantly the degree of efficiency of spout sterilization inside the pre-chamber.
  • a further object is that of providing the filling head with gripper operating devices, both for the cap and for the spout, which are precise and constant over time and require little maintenance.
  • 1 denotes a sterile chamber inside which a filling head 2 with a cylindrical design of the known type is able to penetrate in a sealing manner.
  • a bottom wall 3 of the chamber 1 is provided with an opening 4 inside which a spout 5, provided with a cap 6 and welded to a bag 7, can be inserted.
  • the spout 5 of the known type has at least one annular groove into which gripping means, which retain the spout itself during all the operations necessary for filling of the bag, penetrate.
  • the internal surface of said bottom wall 3 is provided, in fact, with spout gripping means which are indicated in their entirety by 8.
  • the gripping means 8 comprise two jaws or grippers 9 and 10, each of which is pivotably mounted on a pin 11 and is able to oscillate about said pin upon actuation of a pawl 12a on which there is an idle roller wheel 12 inserted inside a positive cam 13 keyed onto a vertical shaft 14 inserted inside the chamber 1.
  • the vertical shaft 14 is supported by two bushes 15 and 16 which are inserted respectively in the bottom wall 3 and in the upper wall 3a of the chamber.
  • the vertical shaft 14 is able to perform rotational oscillations by means of operating systems of a known type and not described.
  • a hollow vertical shaft 17 penetrates through the upper wall 3a of the chamber 1, said shaft rotating on itself and being vertically displaceable by means of actuating systems known and not described.
  • the hollow shaft 17 has fixed to its bottom a pre-chamber for sterilization of the spout, indicated in its entirety by 20.
  • the pre-chamber 20 comprises an upper plate 21, a side wall 22 and a bottom wall 23, the latter two being provided with a sealing ring 24 pressing against the underlying grippers 9 and 10.
  • the pre-chamber 20 has, defined inside it, two compartments indicated respectively by 25 and 26, into the first of which saturated steam at a temperature higher than 100°C is injected.
  • the steam is injected by means of a flexible pipe 35 which enters inside the sterile chamber 1.
  • the chamber 25 also houses a temperature sensor 40 for continuously monitoring the temperature reached during each sterilization operation.
  • the sensor is advantageously connected to a control system which is able to prevent operation of the entire machine if the value of the temperature detected falls below a minimum predefined value, so as to ensure perfect sterilization of the spout.
  • the chamber 26 houses operating means 27 for grippers 28 which extend into the chamber 25 and are designed to grip the cap for extraction or insertion thereof from or into the spout.
  • the operating means 27 comprise a pin 18 which is inserted coaxially inside the hollow shaft 17 with the possibility of rotating inside it.
  • the pin 18 has, fixed to its end, a positive cam 29 containing, in its seat, a roller wheel 30 mounted idle on a small pin 31 supported by the gripper 28 which is pivotably mounted at 32 on the upper plate 21 of the pre-chamber.
  • the upper wall 3a has, fixed to it, a support 33 which supports the hollow shaft 17 with the arrangement, in between, of at least two sleeves comprising ball bearings 19 (only one of which is visible in the Figure) allowing the hollow shaft to perform the two movements described above in such a way as to withstand considerable cantilever radial loads without losing its freedom of vertical movement.
  • the spout engaging grippers are designed with a pressure-tight closing action and with forced-contact sliding by means of the plate 34 underneath which the engaging grippers are forcibly inserted.
  • the spout with cap is inserted into the opening 4 by means of devices which are known and not illustrated. Then the grippers 9 and 10 intervene and, actuated by the positive cam 13, grip the spout, also ensuring sealing of the overlying chamber 25 of the pre-chamber 20, as illustrated in Figure 1.
  • the hollow shaft 17 is raised slowly, drawing upwards the sterilization pre-chamber and therefore removing the cap from the spout.
  • the pre-chamber moves upwards slowly so as to allow discharging of the pressure inside the sterile chamber so as to prevent the entry of steam into the bag.
  • the hollow shaft rotates on itself so as to move the cap away from the filling zone (see Figure 2) and allow the head 2 to move down until it is above the spout and start filling, after which, the head is raised and the pre-chamber 20 together with the gripped cap is positioned above the spout again so as to perform closing of the bag.
  • the temperature sensor constantly detects the temperature in the pre-chamber, especially during the injection of steam into the pre-chamber, so as to verify the sterilization efficiency thereof.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
  • Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)
  • Apparatus For Disinfection Or Sterilisation (AREA)
  • Sealing Material Composition (AREA)
EP98830619A 1997-10-21 1998-10-16 Filling head for an aseptic filling machine in particular for flexible containers with a pressure cap. Expired - Lifetime EP0911260B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITPR970058 1997-10-21
IT97PR000058A IT1296405B1 (it) 1997-10-21 1997-10-21 Testa di riempimento per riempitrice asettica in particolare di contenitori flessibili con tappo a pressione.

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0911260A1 EP0911260A1 (en) 1999-04-28
EP0911260B1 true EP0911260B1 (en) 2002-12-18

Family

ID=11396127

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98830619A Expired - Lifetime EP0911260B1 (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-16 Filling head for an aseptic filling machine in particular for flexible containers with a pressure cap.

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0911260B1 (it)
DE (2) DE69810235T4 (it)
IT (1) IT1296405B1 (it)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB9916215D0 (en) 1999-07-09 1999-09-15 Smith David S Packaging Apparatus and method for filling
GB2452055A (en) 2007-08-22 2009-02-25 Flexifill Ltd Aseptic container filling
US20140110020A1 (en) * 2011-06-14 2014-04-24 Cft S.P.A. System for aseptic filling of big containers with an outlet

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4498508A (en) * 1983-02-04 1985-02-12 Scholle Corporation Container filler
IT1225214B (it) * 1988-11-25 1990-11-02 El Srl Dispositivo per la sterilizzazione dell'imboccatura di contenitori, inparticolare di contenitori a forma di sacco per prodotti alimentari
CA2029682C (en) * 1989-11-24 1995-10-10 Duncan Newman Method and apparatus for steam sterilization of articles
JP3301184B2 (ja) * 1993-11-26 2002-07-15 凸版印刷株式会社 口栓付袋状容器の無菌充填方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1296405B1 (it) 1999-06-25
DE69810235T4 (de) 2004-05-06
EP0911260A1 (en) 1999-04-28
DE69810235D1 (de) 2003-01-30
DE69810235T2 (de) 2003-11-06
ITPR970058A1 (it) 1999-04-21
ITPR970058A0 (it) 1997-10-21

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