Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67C—CLEANING, FILLING WITH LIQUIDS OR SEMILIQUIDS, OR EMPTYING, OF BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, CASKS, BARRELS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; FUNNELS
  • B67C3/00—Bottling liquids or semiliquids; Filling jars or cans with liquids or semiliquids using bottling or like apparatus; Filling casks or barrels with liquids or semiliquids
  • B67C3/02—Bottling liquids or semiliquids; Filling jars or cans with liquids or semiliquids using bottling or like apparatus
  • B67C3/22—Details
  • B67C3/26—Filling-heads; Means for engaging filling-heads with bottle necks
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67C—CLEANING, FILLING WITH LIQUIDS OR SEMILIQUIDS, OR EMPTYING, OF BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, CASKS, BARRELS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; FUNNELS
  • B67C3/00—Bottling liquids or semiliquids; Filling jars or cans with liquids or semiliquids using bottling or like apparatus; Filling casks or barrels with liquids or semiliquids
  • B67C3/001—Cleaning of filling devices
• • 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

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for discharging the product contained in a distribution circuit of a filling machine, the distribution circuit connecting from upstream to downstream a product storage tank up to a filling spout which is intended for be brought next to the opening of a container to be filled.
• This process is more particularly intended to be implemented in machines which make it possible to fill hollow containers, such as bottles or jars, with a product, for example a food liquid.
• Such machines may include a rotating carrousel provided with a series of filling spouts, each spout then being supplied by the distribution circuit.
• the containers are engaged on the carousel at a given point in the circle that it describes, being arranged below a filling spout. Once the container is placed under the spout, the latter is supplied with product so that the product is poured inside the container.
• the supply of the spout is interrupted by a valve interposed in the distribution circuit and the container is then released from the carousel, this of course before the carousel has made a complete revolution.
• this stop is planned, for example at the end of production, or that it is unforeseen, for example when the production line in which the filling machine is located knows a problem downstream of it, this amount of product is found immobilized in the distribution circuit, this immobilization can last a certain time.
• the product contained in the distribution circuit may degrade or no longer correspond to defined filling conditions. This is for example the case when the product is intended to be filled at a given temperature, hot or cold. Indeed, if the product which is in the storage tank is generally maintained at the right temperature, for example thanks to a forced circulation in an exchanger, such is not the case of the product contained in the distribution circuit because the latter is in principle not temperature controlled since, in operation, the product is only required to stay there for a very short time.
• the invention therefore aims to provide a solution to solve the difficulties associated with the presence of material in the distribution circuit during stops of the filling machine.
• the invention provides a delivery method, characterized in that it comprises a step consisting in delimiting around the spout, by means of a sealed casing, a closed enclosure, and a step during which a discharge fluid is injected under pressure into the enclosure, through an auxiliary port, to discharge the product contained in the distribution circuit towards the tank.
• the discharge fluid is an inert gas; or - the delivery fluid is sterile.
• the invention also provides a filling machine for implementing the method according to the invention, characterized in that the filling spout is enclosed in a fixed casing secured to a support for the spout, the casing comprising a passage orifice opposite which is arranged the spout, and the casing comprising a movable shutter which, in a closed position, closes the orifice and closes the casing in a leaktight manner, and in that the machine comprises an auxiliary port which opens into the enclosure and which is intended to be connected to a source of pressurized fluid.
• - The shutter is controlled by actuating means between its closed position and an open position in which the orifice of the housing is released;
• the shutter actuation means comprise a double-acting fluid pressure cylinder
• the machine comprises means for circulating, inside the housing, a cleaning agent, the cleaning agent being introduced into the housing by the filling spout and being discharged through the auxiliary port which opens out to the inside the enclosure delimited by the casing; - the auxiliary port is arranged at a low point of the casing;
• a sterile gas is injected into the casing through the auxiliary port and is evacuated through the orifice of the casing, surrounding the flow of the product between the filling spout and the container; and - the machine comprises several filling spouts each of which is enclosed in a fixed casing provided with a movable obturator for closing the casing in a sealed manner.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view in axial section illustrating a part of a carousel of a filling machine designed according to the invention
• FIG. 2 is a detail view of Figure 1 showing more particularly the cleaning housing of a filling spout and a shutter and its actuating means, the shutter being illustrated in the open position;
• FIG. 3 is a view identical to that of Figure 2 in which the flap is illustrated in the closed position.
• a filling machine 1 0 for filling containers, such as bottles 1 2, with a liquid, for example a flat liquid such as water.
• the machine 1 0 is a rotary machine which comprises a carousel 14 rotatably mounted relative to a fixed frame 1 6, around an axis A1 which, for convenience, will be described as vertical.
• the carousel 1 4 comprises a series of filling stations 1 8 which are angularly spaced regularly around the axis A1 but only one of which is illustrated in the figures.
• Each filling station 1 8 is capable of filling a bottle 12.
• it comprises in particular a device 20 for supporting the bottle 1 2, a filling spout 22 through which the product intended to fill the bottle, and a distribution circuit which is interposed between a storage tank (not shown) associated with the machine and the spout 22.
• the distribution circuit includes in particular, but not exclusively, a rotating distributor 24 and, for each spout, a supply line having two upstream 26 and downstream 28 sections between which a valve 30 is arranged which makes it possible to control the flow of product in the circuit and therefore the distribution of the product through the associated nozzle 22.
• the rotating distributor 24 is arranged in the lower part of the carousel 14, radially in the center of the latter.
• I l has a fixed part to which are connected supply pipes (not shown) which are fixed relative to the frame 1 6 and which allow in particular to supply the carousel with product from the storage tank, and more , as will appear later, as a cleaning agent and in pressurized air.
• the distributor 24 also comprises a rotating part 32 to which are connected conduits including the supply line 26, 28.
• the two parts of the rotating distributor 24 include communication means which make it possible to selectively connect the fixed supply pipes to the corresponding lines of the carousel.
• Each filling station 1 8 comprises a hollow vertical column 34 which is fixed by its lower end to a horizontal plate 36 and which carries, at its upper end, the filling spout 22, which extends outwards, substantially along a radius with respect to the axis A1.
• the valve 30 is arranged below the plate 36, substantially vertical to the associated filling spout 22, so that the downstream section 28 of the supply line extends through a hole 40 in the plate 36 and inside the column 34.
• the filling machine comprises means for delimiting, around the spout 22, a sealed sealed enclosure and means for injecting into this enclosure a delivery fluid which makes it possible to repel the product contained in the distribution circuit in the direction of the storage tank.
• the column 34 of the machine described carries, at its upper end, a casing 38 in which the filling spout 22 is enclosed.
• the end part of the downstream section 28 of the supply pipe extends in a radial plane relative to the axis A1, so that the casing is fixed in protrusion radially outwards relative to the column 34.
• the casing 38 comprises a base 42 which is fixed to the column 34 and which is extended radially outwards by a tubular wall of revolution 44 of radial axis A2.
• the wall 44 is closed at its external radial end by an end wall 46 which is for example constituted by a plug screwed tightly on the wall 44.
• the end part of the supply line 28 passes through the base 42 of sealingly to open into the closed enclosure delimited by the tubular wall 44.
• the filling spout 22 is bent downwards to be located opposite an orifice 48 arranged in the wall 44, this orifice 48 being itself opposite the filling opening of the bottle 1 2 when the latter is in place on its support 20.
• the casing 38 comprises a movable flap 50 which makes it possible to close the orifice 48 so that the casing delimits a perfectly closed and sealed enclosure in which the spout 22 is enclosed.
• the flap 50 consists of a tubular sleeve 52 of revolution which is slidably mounted on the tubular wall 44, outside of the latter. The flap 50 can thus move between an open position illustrated in FIG. 2, in which it is moved back so as to release the orifice 48, and a closed position illustrated in FIG. 3, in which it is advanced so to cover orifice 48.
• the rear end of the sleeve 52 has the shape of a collar 54 which slides in leaktight manner inside an annular chamber delimited around the tubular wall 44 by a tubular shell 56 of axis A2 which surrounds the end rear of the wall 44.
• the flange 54 thus plays the role of a piston which delimits in the chamber two front 58 and rear 60 parts.
• the respective volume of these two parts 58, 60 is therefore variable as a function of the position of the flange, and therefore of the position of the flap 50, along the axis A2.
• the flap 50 is forced to move towards one or the other of its open or shutter positions.
• the flange 54 and the two parts 58, 60 of the chamber form a double-acting fluid pressure cylinder.
• each filling station 1 8 is provided with its own solenoid valve (not shown) for controlling the flap 50.
• the actuation of the flaps 50 is done individually and can then possibly be offset in time from one beak to another.
• the machine may include a single control solenoid valve for all the spouts.
• the actuation of the flaps 50 can, thanks to the invention, be done simultaneously on all the spouts in a very short time.
• the shutters can be actuated even when the carousel is being rotated.
• the machine according to the invention comprises, for each nozzle
• an auxiliary port 70 which is arranged in the base 42 and which opens inside the enclosure defined by the corresponding casing 38.
• the auxiliary port 70 is connected by an auxiliary line 72 and by the distributor 24 to a device for supplying pressurized discharge fluid.
• the delivery fluid must be determined according to the filling product. In most cases, an inert gas such as sterile air can advantageously be used.
• the discharge is interrupted when the fluid has flowed back to a desired level, a level which can be identified either visually, by means of a transparent section of pipe interposed for example in the distribution circuit at the outlet of the storage tank, or so automatic, thanks to a detector known elsewhere.
• the discharge is interrupted simply by ceasing to supply the casing with pressurized fluid.
• an isolation valve will be provided at the outlet of the storage tank which will be closed as soon as the product has flowed back to the desired level.
• the filling operation must of course be carried out while avoiding any contamination of the product. This is crucial when the product is a food product and even more so in the case of dairy products for example.
• the filling machine should be cleaned at regular intervals. Cleaning can consist of removing all traces of the product, removing dust and other foreign bodies, or even eliminating biological or bacteriological contaminants. For the purposes of this patent, cleaning can therefore also cover the concepts of washing, disinfection, decontamination or sterilization. Cleaning is generally carried out using a liquid or gaseous cleaning agent which is circulated in the circuit taken by the product inside the machine. To limit the consumption of cleaning agent, and above all to facilitate its recovery for possible recycling, it is preferable to circulate the agent within a closed circuit.
• a cleaning liquid is circulated through the intake pipe, the valve 30 and the spout 22, which comes to fill the casing 38.
• the liquid is then discharged from the casing through the auxiliary port 70 which is then connected by the auxiliary line 72 and by the distributor 24 to a device for recovering and recycling the cleaning liquid, which allows consumption to be limited.
• the auxiliary port 70 is arranged so as to open out at a low point of the casing 38 to allow the most complete possible evacuation of the cleaning liquid by the auxiliary line 72.
• a sterile gas such as sterile air, nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
• the sterile gas then fills the internal volume of the casing 38 and escapes through the orifice 48, surrounding the jet of product which is delivered by the filling spout towards the bottle 1 2.
• the sterile gas can be introduced into the casing 38 through the same auxiliary port 70 which serves for the evacuation of the cleaning agent during the cleaning phases of the machine.
• the product delivery operation during a machine stop can be performed quickly for all filling stations of the machine, which avoids any loss of product.
• the delivery being made with an inert fluid for the product in question, the restarting of the machine can be done without it being necessary to necessarily carry out a particular cleaning of the distribution circuit, except of course in the case of 'a prolonged stop, in which case the cleaning operation as described above can be implemented in a particularly simple manner.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Fish Paste Products (AREA)
• Formation And Processing Of Food Products (AREA)
• Feeding, Discharge, Calcimining, Fusing, And Gas-Generation Devices (AREA)
• General Factory Administration (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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ID=9540694

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (13)

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Family Cites Families (9)

• 1999
  • 1999-01-06 FR FR9900117A patent/FR2788049B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-12-07 PT PT99958266T patent/PT1173382E/pt unknown
  • 1999-12-07 DE DE69906589T patent/DE69906589T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-07 JP JP2000592219A patent/JP3462856B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-12-07 AU AU15671/00A patent/AU1567100A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-12-07 US US09/869,838 patent/US6453953B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-07 EP EP99958266A patent/EP1173382B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-12-07 WO PCT/FR1999/003048 patent/WO2000040503A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1999-12-07 CA CA002358549A patent/CA2358549C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-12-07 KR KR10-2001-7008555A patent/KR100452842B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-12-07 AT AT99958266T patent/ATE236074T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-12-07 BR BR9916775-1A patent/BR9916775A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-12-07 ES ES99958266T patent/ES2196889T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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