EP1945511B1 - Installation for filling a container, in particular an aerosol container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an installation for filling a container, in particular an aerosol container, this installation comprising at least one frame delimiting an enclosure closed by a protective door for receiving an aerosol container to be filled with liquid product, this enclosure housing, on the one hand, means for holding a bucket for receiving the filling product at a location above the receiving location of the aerosol container in a position of contact with the valve of the aerosol container, on the other hand a movable pusher element between at least two functional positions to cause, by pushing on the liquid contained in the cup, the transfer of this liquid through an orifice of said cup in the aerosol container.

Such installations are well known to those skilled in this art, as illustrated in particular by the patent EP-A-0440477 .

In such installations, the bucket is provided, at its bottom, with an injection orifice that can be adapted to the valve of an aerosol container pre-filled with propellant gas to enable, with the aid of a jack piston, transferring the contents of the bucket, such as paint, into the aerosol container. Once the latter filled with liquid filling product, the diffuser is placed on the valve of the container. The actuation of the diffuser allows a projection of the liquid contained in the container.

The installations allowing such filling always delimit an enclosure closed at least partially by a door, this door must necessarily be kept closed for safety reasons during the transfer operation of the liquid corresponding to the movement of the piston towards the bottom of the bucket . During this transfer, the piston applies a thrust force to the surface of the liquid contained in the cup. Until now, the safety device for holding the door in the closed position during the transfer operation consists of a contactor positioned on the frame, the closing of the door causing the activation of the contactor and consequently the possibility for the piston to operate. The switch is only used to stop the movement of the piston when the door is opened. It does not allow in any case to control a displacement of the piston. To allow movement of the piston, the frame comprises a control member, such as a push button, the actuation causes the return or exit of the piston.

This combination of a contactor and a piston control member, such as a pushbutton, has a number of disadvantages.

It is first relatively easy to bypass the contactor by applying any element on the contactor so that it permanently detects a closed position of the door. In this case, the safety of the manipulations is no longer ensured.

Another disadvantage lies in the fact that two manipulations are necessary to enable the operation of the piston, namely on the one hand, close the door for the activation of the contactor, on the other hand, act on the control member in displacement of the piston, such as a push button. These manipulations appear tedious for the operator. In addition, the opening of the door automatically triggers the rise of the piston prohibiting the stopping of the piston in an extended position, forcing to clean the piston in the up position. To be able to clean the piston when it is in the low position, users are led to deceive the door closing contactor.

The patent EP-0688716 discloses an installation for filling a container whose safety device for holding the door in the closed position during the transfer operation is constituted by a valve positioned on the frame of the installation, this valve acting on the control circuit of the the pusher element. The number of back and forth of the pusher element is then managed by a counter internal to the installation acting as a control member. The Pusher element operating valve is activated by closing the door but it is then necessary to have a counter to manage the movements of the pusher element. In case of accidental opening of the door, the valve controls the stop of the piston in a high position. The disadvantage of this solution identical to that described for the patent EP-A-0440477 lies in the fact that the safety device can be easily shunted or lured. It suffices to act on the valve of the frame so that it considers the door as closed. In this case, the safety of the manipulations is no longer ensured.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a filling installation whose safety device, allowing the transfer operation only when the door is in the closed position, is a tamper-proof device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a filling installation whose design is simplified by combining into a single body two functions formerly made from two bodies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container filling installation whose design eliminates any control member of the piston of the installation on the frame.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container filling installation whose design reduces the number of manipulations to be performed by the operator.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an installation for filling a container, in particular an aerosol container, this installation comprising at least one frame delimiting an enclosure closed at least partially by a protective door for receiving a container. aerosol to be filled liquid product, this chamber housing on the one hand means for holding a bucket for receiving the filling product at a location above the receiving location of the aerosol container, in a position contact with the valve of the aerosol container, on the other hand a movable pusher element between at least two functional positions to cause, by pushing on the liquid contained in the cup, the transfer of this liquid through an orifice of said cup into the container aerosol, characterized in that the pusher element is a pneumatic or hydraulic control member, a part of said pneumatic or hydraulic circuit being integrated into the protective door opening.

The integration into the door of a portion of the pneumatic or hydraulic circuit being in the form of a pipe and serving to move the pusher element limits or eliminates the possibility for an operator to bypass the safety device. It would indeed be necessary for him to rebuild a part of the circuit to be able to keep the door open during an operation. As a result, the operator is no longer tempted, as in the state of the art, to bypass the safety device for holding the door in the closed position at least during the downward movement of the pusher element since this safety device is no longer disposed on the frame of the installation but in the door and can no longer move from an inactive position to an active position by simply switching or contact. Due to the integration of the safety device in the door, the installation is now a safe installation in which the movement of descent of the pusher element is safely performed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the movement of the pusher element between its different functional positions is controlled by the movement of the opening of the protective door.

The use of the protective door opening as a control member of the movement of the pusher element greatly simplifies the installation. The door leaf thus constitutes a direct control member of the pusher element and controls the movements of the latter both up and down as well as the position of the latter. The door leaf can therefore control the stopping of the pusher element in any position making it easy to clean the pusher element. Thus, in the case of a pusher element made in the form of a cylinder-type axial displacement member, the door leaf controls, as a function of its position, the raising, lowering or stopping of the rod of said cylinder. The integration of the movement control element of the pusher element inside the door also makes it possible to increase the reliability of such an installation making it difficult, if not impossible, for an operator to proceed with a transfer operation in the open position of the door.

• la figure 1 représente une vue partielle en coupe d'une installation de remplissage conforme à l'invention et
• les figures 2 à 4 représentent en vue de dessus en coupe au niveau du rail stationnaire du bâti, les positions relatives du circuit de la porte et sa coïncidence avec le circuit du bâti.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• the figure 1 represents a partial sectional view of a filling installation according to the invention and
• the Figures 2 to 4 represent in sectional view at the stationary rail of the frame, the relative positions of the gate circuit and its coincidence with the circuit of the frame.

As mentioned above, the installation, which is the subject of the invention, is more particularly intended for filling aerosol containers 11. Such an aerosol container 11 is in the form of a cylindrical body, equipped at its top, with a valve. This aerosol container 11 is pre-filled with a propellant gas. The filling installation is intended to introduce into such a container a filling liquid, such as paint, the liquid can then be propelled by the propellant out of said container with a removable diffuser positioned on the valve of said container.

Conventionally, the installation comprises at least one frame 1 delimiting an enclosure closed at least partially by a door 2 of protection. Preferably, the frame 1 externally affects the shape of a cylindrical body. The enclosure is intended to receive an aerosol container 11 to be filled. The filling is carried out using a bucket 12 provided at its base with an orifice 13 injection. This orifice 13 is adaptable to the valve of the aerosol container 11 and is positioned opposite said valve during the transfer operation. To maintain the bucket 12 in a superimposed position above the aerosol container 11, there is generally provided inside the enclosure means for holding the bucket 12 in position. These holding means can affect a large number of shapes. They may consist on the one hand jaws or rails equipping the frame, on the other hand a hollow cylinder housing the bucket 12 and itself cap the head of the aerosol container. These holding means will not be described in detail below.

The installation further comprises a movable pusher element 6 between the monks two functional positions. This pusher element 6 is in the form of a scraper whose peripheral wall is in sealing contact with the inner wall of the bucket, in the introduced state of the pusher element 6 in the bucket 12, to allow, when an axial displacement of the pusher element 6 towards the bottom of the bucket, the passage of the liquid contained in the bucket 12 in the aerosol container 11 through the ejection orifice of the bucket and the valve of the container, 11. Once the transfer operation is complete, the pusher member 6 is returned to an inactive position in which it is positioned back from the bucket. Thus, during the passage from the inactive position to the working position, the pusher element slidably moves inside the bucket 12 towards the bottom of the bucket while, during the transition from the working position to the Inactive position, it moves away from the bottom forming face of the bucket.

In a manner characteristic of the invention, the movement of the pusher element 6, allowing the passage of said pusher element 6 from one functional position to another, is controlled by the displacement of the door opening 2 protection thus allowing to get rid of a control device positioned on the frame of the machine. This pusher element 6 is a member with alternating axial displacement. During a filling operation, the pusher element 6 performs a single back-and-forth movement. Regardless of the type of design of the pusher element 6, the door 2, in the closed position, controls the supply of the pusher element 6 in the working position, that is to say in a position in which it is introduced inside the bucket 12 and forces the liquid to pass through the opening 13 injection of the bucket 12 into the aerosol container 11. In this closed position, the protective door 2, forming at least part of the closure member of the enclosure, traps the aerosol container 11 and its bucket 12 inside the enclosure of the frame 1. This imprisonment ensures a centering bucket under the pusher element and prevents any inadvertent movement of the latter during the filling operation. The door 2, in the open position, controls the opposite movement of the pusher element 6 to an inactive position, that is to say to a recessed position of the bucket 12. It is not a problem that, in this position, the door 2 remains open since this operation is a safe operation for the operator insofar as the pusher element 6 withdraws from the bucket 12 and no longer exerts any effort on the filling product to be transferred preventing thus any risk of bursting the container by overfilling. Conversely, the fact that the door 2 is in the open position during the transition from the working position to the inactive position of the pusher element 6 provides easy access to the latter as well as to the bucket 12 and the container. 11 aerosol. The door 2, in the intermediate position, interrupts the movement of said pushing element 6. The passage through this intermediate position of the door 2, from a position is open or closed, during movement of the pusher element 6, stops the latter in a selected position, and thus allows easy cleaning of this 6 pusher element. So, the figure 2 illustrates the door 2 in the open position, the figure 3 , the door 2 in the intermediate position while the figure 4 illustrates the door 2 in the closed position.

In the examples shown, the pusher element 6 has the shape of a rod of a cylinder whose control member of the rod 6 of the cylinder is constituted by the door opening 2 of protection which, depending on its position, controls the retraction of the rod 6 of the cylinder, the output of the rod 6 of the cylinder or the interruption of displacement of the rod 6 of said cylinder. Again, the open position of the door controls the retraction of the rod 6 of the cylinder, the closed position of the door 2 controls the output of the rod 6 of the cylinder while a intermediate position of the door between the open position and the closed position causes an interruption in the displacement of the rod 6 of the jack.

In such a configuration, preferably, the rod 6 of the cylinder is a cylindrical rod free of undercut to avoid any risk of jamming, particularly finger jamming, during its ascent or retraction.

When the pusher element 6 is a pneumatic or hydraulic control member, as may be the case when the latter is constituted by a cylinder, a part of said circuit, in particular a part of the pipe or circuits of the circuit, is integrated in the opening of door 2 of protection. This is the case represented in figure 1 where part of the pneumatic circuit, shown in 3 in the figures, is integrated with the door leaf 2. It should be noted that the door 2 is preferably a sliding door, preferably in a coaxial surface to the axis of the door. 'pregnant. This door 2 can be a suspended door. The pneumatic circuit 3 of this door 2 supplies power to an integrated circuit in the frame. Indeed, the door 2 cooperates with a stationary mounted fluid distribution rail 10 inside the frame 1, this rail 10 having in place nozzles 8a, 9a putting the integrated circuit 3 of the door 2 into communication with the circuit. actuation control of the pusher element 6. The pneumatic or hydraulic circuit portion 3 of the pusher element 6 fitted to the door 2 passes through a rail 5 of the door, this rail 5 moving along the distributor rail of the frame 1 during the movements of the door 2 and ensuring , parallel to the placing in communication of the integrated circuit 3 of the door 2 with the control circuit of the pusher element 6, maintaining in position the bucket 12 inside said enclosure. Indeed, this rail 5 comes, in its face from above, in contact with the underside of the distributor rail 10 and its end face in contact with the bucket / aerosol container assembly. The pneumatic circuit 3 of the door 2 is itself supplied with fluid via a connection, such as a flexible conduit, not shown, connecting the circuit 3 to a source of pressurized fluid outside the installation. . The fluid, in this case compressed air, coming from the source, such as a compressor, supplies the duct 3 integrated in the door leaf which itself feeds, depending on the position of the door leaf, the pneumatic circuit integrated in the frame and which communicates with the pusher element, in particular the chambers of the cylinder constituting the pusher element.

The pneumatic circuit of the frame communicates with the chambers of the jack. This cylinder, whose body is shown at 7 and the rod forming a pusher element 6, in fact comprises two chambers shown at 8 and 9 in the figures. The chamber 8 allows, during its supply of fluid through the nozzle 8a, the output of the rod 6 of cylinder, while the chamber 9 allows, during its supply of fluid through the nozzle 9a, the retraction of the rod 6 of the cylinder. The nozzle 8a thus coincides with the circuit 3 of the door in the closed position of the door while the nozzle 9a coincides with the circuit 3 in the open position of the door 2. The output of the rod can therefore be controlled only in the closed position of the door thus avoiding any risk of injury to the operator. In the intermediate position of the door leaf, corresponding to a position where the circuit 3 of the opening is no longer in front of the nozzles 8a or 9a of the frame, the chambers 8 and 9 of the cylinder constituting the pusher element are put in the exhaust so that the pusher element is stopped. With such integration of the circuit in the door, it becomes difficult or impossible to deceive the control system.

As mentioned above, the operation of such an installation is particularly easy. The door is, at first, open. This opening of the door automatically controls the retraction of the rod 6 of the cylinder if it was not already retracted. It is then possible for the operator to position, inside the enclosure of the frame, the bucket 12 and the aerosol container 11, the bucket 12 being positioned above the aerosol container 11 with its injection orifice 13 in contact with the valve of the aerosol container 11 before being filled with paint. Once the assembly introduced into the enclosure, the operator can then close the door 2. The closing of the door 2 causes the exhaust of the chamber 9 of the cylinder and the air supply of the chamber 8 of the cylinder when the door reaches the closed position. This air supply of the chamber 8 of the jack causes the output of the rod 6 of the jack which transfers the liquid contained in the cup 12 through the valve of container in the container 11. In end position of the rod 6 of the cylinder, corresponding to a position in which the cylinder head is positioned in the vicinity of the bottom face of the bucket 12, generally bearing on said face, transfer operation is complete. The reopening of the door causes, in a manner similar to what has been mentioned above, the exhausting of the chamber 8 and the air supply of the chamber 9 when the door reaches the open position. This air supply of the chamber 9 causes the raising of the rod 6 of the jack. The raising or lowering of the rod 6 of the jack can be interrupted at any time by moving the door from an open position, or closed respectively, to an intermediate position in which the chambers 8 and 9 are each set 'exhaust.

Claims (9)

1. Installation for filling a container (11), in particular an aerosol container (11), said installation comprising at least one casing (1) defining an enclosure at least partially closed by a protective door (2) for receiving an aerosol container (11) to be filled with liquid product, said enclosure accommodating, on the one hand means for holding a cup (12) intended to receive the filling product in a place located above the place for receiving the aerosol container (11), in a position of contact with the valve of the aerosol container (11), on the other hand a pusher unit (6) mobile between at least two operational positions in order to bring about, by pushing the liquid contained in the cup (12), the transfer of this liquid through an orifice (13) of said cup (12) into the aerosol container (11), characterised in that the pusher unit (6) is a pneumatic or hydraulic control device, one part of said pneumatic or hydraulic circuit being integrated with the wing of the protective door (2).
2. Installation according to claim 1, characterised in that the movement of the pusher unit (6) between its different operational positions is controlled by displacement of the wing of the protective door (2).
3. Installation according to claim 2, characterised in that the pusher unit (6) is an alternating axial displacement device, with the door (2) in the closed position controlling the bringing of the pusher unit (6) into the working position, the door (2) in the open position controlling the displacement of the pusher unit (6) to an inactive position, and the door (2) in the intermediate position interrupting the displacement of said pusher unit (6).
4. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the pusher unit (6) takes the form of a cylinder rod with the control device of the cylinder rod (6) being constituted by the wing of the protective door (2) which, depending on its position, controls the return of the cylinder rod (6), the emergence of the cylinder rod (6) or the interruption of the displacement of said cylinder rod (6).
5. Installation according to claim 4, characterised in that the cylinder rod (6) is a cylindrical rod free from undercuts to avoid any risk of sticking when on the rise.
6. Installation according to claim 1, characterised in that the door (2) engages with a fluid dispensing rail (10) mounted stationary inside the casing (1), this rail (10) having in places nozzles (8a, 9a) bringing the integrated circuit (3) of the door (2) into communication with the control circuit actuating the pusher unit (6).
7. Installation according to claim 6, characterised in that the pneumatic or hydraulic circuit (3) portion of the pusher unit (6) fitted to the door (2) passes through a rail (5) of the door, this rail (5) moving along the dispensing rail (10) of the casing (1) as the door (2) is displaced and holding the cup (12) in position inside the enclosure, simultaneously with bringing the integrated circuit of the door (2) into communication with the control circuit of the pusher unit (6).
8. Installation according to claim 1, characterised in that the door (2) is a sliding door, preferably in a surface coaxial with the axis of the enclosure.
9. Installation according to claim 1, characterised in that said casing (1) takes the form externally of a cylindrical body.

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