EP2704980B1 - Device for filling a container with a liquid - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for filling a container with a particular intended for consumption liquid according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

For filling a container, in particular bottle, with a liquid intended for consumption, in particular beverage, this liquid is supplied to the container, for example by means of a feed probe. The problem with this is that the liquid is exposed to the ambient air with the result of unwanted gas release, gas exchange or gas entry.

The US 2009/0 095 776 A1 shows a device in particular for emptying, but also for filling a bottle of the type specified. The device has a plug as an attachment, which is inserted into the upper opening of the bottle in the manner of a cork. In this plug is located next to a gas supply tube for a balloon, an additional, continuous tube. By inflating the balloon, the wine in the bottle is squeezed out through this tube. Furthermore, a flexible rod is angeordet to the plug. This allows liquid in the lower region to flow past it as the balloon inflates. The above-described emptying device can also be used for filling a bottle. The liquid is supplied via the tube of the bottle, the balloon is emptied.

The FR 1 150 289 A shows a method for emptying and for filling a container with a liquid. To empty a tube is inserted from above into the container filled with the liquid, which is surrounded by a balloon. To empty the container, this balloon is inflated so that thereby the liquid is successively forced out. The liquid flows through a tap, which is located in the bottom area of the container. To fill the empty container, liquid can be supplied via the tap located in the bottom region of the container. As a result, the balloon inflated in the initial state is folded back into the initial position, in that the air in the balloon escapes successively over the tube.

The AT 007 079 U2 shows an irrigation system in which a container is provided, in which there is a closed bubble made of a flexible material. This is supplied via a feed water. At the same time, water which is outside the bubble but within the container is discharged via a pipe. The system works the other way around. The purpose is that you have two different chambers in the form of water reservoirs, which can settle in the one water reservoir, the water so as to improve the quality of the plants when pouring.

The WO 87/06922 A1 shows a container for storing two different liquids without these coming into contact with each other. A field of application are oil freighters, in which the cargo space is to be filled with water after unloading the oil. Another field of application is the transport of liquids in trucks, after the discharge of a liquid of a first type, a liquid of the second kind is to be performed. In this case, a container is provided, which has two openings. The one opening is associated with a bubble. This defines a first chamber, while the space between the outer surface of this bubble and the container defines a chamber.

The US 3 306 503 A shows an apparatus and a method for emptying a container in the manner of a bottle. For this purpose, a pipe is inserted through the opening of the container in this. The tube is surrounded by an inflatable bladder. To empty the container air is supplied through the tube of the bubble, so that it inflates. The liquid in the container is thereby pressed through an opening to the outside, which is located in the bottom region of the container.

The invention is based on the issue to improve the known device for gas contactless filling a container.

The technical solution is characterized by the features of claim 1.

As a result, an effective device for gas contactless filling of a container with a particular intended for consumption liquid is created. The device is characterized in that the liquid does not come into contact with a gas during the filling process, for example air or another gas. The advantage of this device is thus that the liquid during filling of the container is not subject to any gas donation, gas exchange or gas entry. The implementation of the method provides that in the container initially at least one balloon-like body is introduced. This can be arbitrarily shaped in the initial state. By this balloon-like body is filled after insertion into the container by means of a medium, thereby the interior of the container is completely filled. There are two possibilities for filling the balloon-like body with the expansion medium: On the one hand, the expansion medium can be supplied with overpressure to the balloon-like body, so that it inflates in this way. On the other hand, a negative pressure can be applied to the space between the balloon-like body and the inner wall of the container, so that due to the resulting pressure difference of the balloon-like body sucks the expansion medium and thereby inflates. After filling the balloon-like body with the expansion medium, the expansion medium escapes again from this balloon-like body. The expansion medium can be additionally sucked off to improve the effect. It forms in the container, a space between the balloon-like body and the inner wall of the container to which the liquid is supplied, so that the container fills with this liquid. This is supported by the fact that the expansion of the expansion medium builds up a negative pressure which sucks in the liquid to be filled. A further support is given by the fact that the liquid has an overpressure with respect to the expansion medium and is therefore supplied to the container with overpressure. Finally, a back pressure can be maintained by throttling the re-flowing expansion medium, which suppresses the release of, for example, the CO ₂ during the inflow of the liquid into the container. Since the balloon-like body is liquid-tight and gas-tight, the expansion medium contained in this balloon-like body does not come into contact with the liquid. After the container has been completely filled, the balloon-like body is removed again from the container and made available for the next filling operation.

The at least one balloon-like body is associated with an elongate carrier, with the help of which the balloon-like body is inserted into the container. This elongated carrier is to be understood in the most general sense. Basically, this carrier is an elongated, narrow structure, which can be easily introduced together with the balloon-like body through the opening of the container into this container. Conversely, the assembly of elongate carrier and balloon-like body can easily pull out of the container again, when the filling process is completed with the liquid.

The carrier is arranged on a cap. This means that after insertion of the carrier into the container, this cap rests on the container opening and thus creates a liquid-tight seal with the container opening for the filling process.

The cap has an opening through which the liquid is supplied.

The development according to claim 2 proposes that the balloon-like body is expandable. This means that this balloon-like body expands during filling of the medium in the manner of a balloon and - vice versa - returns to its original shape when escaping or when pumping the medium. For example, when the expandable balloon-like body is filled with air and then the air supply of the then full balloon-like body is reopened to fill the container with the liquid, the air from the balloon-like body escapes automatically, as if the air is released from a balloon. Because the balloon-like body contracts due to its flexibility and pushes out the air therein. This effect is enhanced when the fluid is over-pressurized with respect to the expansion medium (since only the pressure difference between fluid pressure and expansion medium pressure plus "restoring force" of the balloon-like body is important). The balloon-like body has the advantage that it occupies only a very small volume when inserted into the container, so that the insertion process can be performed easily.

Alternatively, it is also conceivable according to claim 3, that the balloon-like body is not expandable.

A preferred embodiment according to claim 4 suggests that the balloon-like body inflate targeted and above all can be emptied again, in such a way that all liquid to be introduced into the container can be easily fed to the container, technically this can be implemented such that the balloon-like body is profiled accordingly, ie that when emptied with the expansion medium first the Emptied profile in the area of the container opening, and then gradually migrate to the container bottom. Alternatively, it is also possible that a plurality of balloon-like body are provided, for example a first balloon-like body in the bottom region of the container, a second balloon-like body in the central region of the container and finally a third balloon-like body in the container opening region. These are inflated one after the other and - especially - emptied during the filling process with the liquid.

The development according to claim 5 proposes a first embodiment of the carrier in the form of a tube. The basic idea is that the balloon-like body or bodies is / are arranged on a tube, wherein the balloon-like body surrounds this tube. Then, when an expansion medium is supplied to the balloon-like body through the tube, the balloon-like body inflates around the tube. For this purpose, the tube is provided according to the number of balloon-like body with corresponding openings for the exit of the expansion medium. The use of a tube has the advantage that it can be easily inserted into the container together with the balloon-like body.

The development according to claim 6 proposes a second embodiment of the carrier in the form of one or more rods, against which the balloon-like body. Basically, it is also conceivable that the two embodiments tube / rod are combined. The rod is to be understood in the most general sense. It is an elongated structure. In contrast to the tube described above, however, this rod is not inside the balloon-like body, but the rod and the balloon-like body are adjacent. The advantage of this rod, on the one hand, that the balloon-like body can be easily inserted into the container, since the rod and the balloon-like body to a certain extent form a structural unit. On the other hand, the rod has the advantage that it comes to rest during the gradual expansion of the balloon-like body between the outer shell of this balloon-like body and the inner wall of the container. This automatically creates a small gap between the outer shell of the balloon-like body and the inner wall of the container, through which air can escape to the container opening. The advantage is therefore that even after the complete inflation of the balloon-like body no air bubbles can form in the container. The air of these air bubbles can easily escape through the container opening through the above-described gap.

The development according to claim 7 proposes various embodiments of the rod. For one thing, it can be bendable, so that it automatically adjusts to the respective contours adapts. The rod can also be relatively rigid. In this case, it is shaped so that it is adapted to the inner contour of the container.

Furthermore, the development proposes according to claim 8, that the front end of the at least one rod is connected to the front end of the balloon-like body. For this purpose, a plastic cord or the like. Serve. The advantage is that in the initial position of the balloon-like body assumes a stretched starting position by the fixation at the front end of the rod and thereby can be easily inserted through the container opening into the container. Another advantage is that a possibly remaining air bubble must escape in the bottom region of the container towards the carrier.

The development according to claim 9 proposes that the outer surface of the balloon-like body has elevations, in particular knob-shaped elevations. Between these elevations, a gap may form to escape the air. Because this can - as already described in connection with the rod - automatically adjust a gap between the outer shell of the balloon-like body and the inner wall of the container through which air can escape to the container opening. The advantage, therefore, again lies in the fact that even after the complete inflation of the balloon-like body no air bubbles can form in the container. The air of these air bubbles can easily escape through the container opening through the above-described gap. The knob-shaped elevations may be formed, for example, diamond-shaped.

According to the embodiment in claim 10, as the medium for filling the balloon or the body, a gas, in particular air, or a liquid, in particular water, can be used.

Fig. 1a bis 1g

eine erste Ausführungsform, wobei verschiedene Verfahrensabschnitte dargestellt sind;

Fig. 2

eine zweite Ausführungsform der Vorrichtung;

Fig. 3a bis 3d

eine dritte Ausführungsform der Vorrichtung unter Verwendung von drei ballonartigen Körpern, ebenfalls in verschiedenen Verfahrensabschnitten;

Fig. 4a bis 4g

eine vierte Ausführungsform, wobei verschiedene Verfahrensabschnitte dargestellt sind.

Embodiments of a filling device according to the invention for filling a container with a liquid intended for consumption are described below with reference to the drawings. In these shows:

Fig. 1a to 1g

a first embodiment, wherein various process sections are shown;

Fig. 2

a second embodiment of the device;

Fig. 3a to 3d

a third embodiment of the device using three balloon-like bodies, also in different process sections;

Fig. 4a to 4g

a fourth embodiment, wherein various process sections are shown.

Fig. 1a The first embodiment of the filling device shows a container 1 in the form of a bottle with a container opening 2. The filling device initially consists of a tube 3, which is held in a cap 4. This tube 3 is open on the underside. In addition, it has a feed opening for a medium at the upper end. The cap 4 finally still has a lateral opening 5.

On the tube 3, a flexible body 6 is pushed and fastened with its upper peripheral edge close to the cap 4. This body 6 can be inflated into a kind of balloon.

The operation is as follows:

The filling device is introduced with the tube 3 ahead in the container 1 through the container opening 2 through. Fig. 1b shows the situation when the filling device is fully inserted and while the cap 4 is slightly spaced above the container opening 2, so does not close tight.

Fig. 1 c shows how the tube 3, an expansion medium 8, in particular air (but also alternatively a hydraulic expansion medium), is supplied. This expansion medium 8 exits the lower opening of the tube 3 and thereby gradually inflates the body 6 into a balloon-like body 6. The air in the container 1 escapes through the annular intermediate gap between the container opening 2 and the cap 4. The final situation is in Fig. 1d shown. It shows how the balloon-shaped body 6 completely rests against the inner wall of the container 1. Also, the cap 4 was now placed tightly on the container 1.

For filling the balloon-like body 6 with the expansion medium 8 there are two possibilities:

On the one hand, the expansion medium 8 can be supplied to the balloon-like body 6 with overpressure, so that this inflates in this way.

On the other hand, a negative pressure can be applied to the space between the balloon-like body 6 and the inner wall of the container 1, so that due to the resulting pressure difference of the balloon-like body 6 sucks the expansion medium 8 and thereby inflates.

As in Fig. 1e shown, then escapes the expansion medium 8 again. By throttling the re-flowing expansion medium 8, a back pressure is maintained, which suppresses the unbinding, for example, of the CO ₂ during the inflow of the liquid 7 into the container 1. Due to its elasticity, the balloon-like body 6 contracts. Via the opening 5 in the cap 4, the liquid 7 is supplied to the container 1. The liquid 7 displaces the balloon-like body 6 with the necessary volume. The space between the balloon-like body 6 and the inner wall of the container 1 is dependent on the amount of liquid supplied. 7

After complete filling of the container 1, the filling device is pulled out of the container 1 again ( Fig. 1f ).

Fig. 2 shows a somewhat modified embodiment of the balloon-like body 6. Here it is shown that the balloon-like body 6 inflates profiled during filling of the expansion medium 8, in such a way that first the bottom portion of the container 1 is filled, then the central container area and finally the neck area the container 1. The emptying of the balloon-like body 6 for the filling then takes place in the reverse order.

Fig. 3a to 3d shows a further modified embodiment of the filling device. Here, a total of three superposed balloon-shaped body 6 are provided, which are arranged on the tube 3 enveloping this. Each of these three balloon-shaped body 6 is associated with an outlet opening from the tube 3.

In this embodiment, first the lowest balloon-shaped body 6 is inflated ( Fig. 3b ), then the middle balloon-shaped body 6 (FIG. Fig. 3c ) and finally the uppermost balloon-shaped body 6 (FIG. Fig. 3d ). The emptying of the balloon-like body 6 for the filling then takes place in the reverse order.

Fig. 4a to 4d shows a further modified embodiment of the filling device. The basic principle here is that instead of a tube 3 on the cap 4, a rod 9 is arranged. This rod 9 is in particular made of plastic and is as an elongated, flexible Formed structures. In contrast to the tube 3, the rod 9 does not protrude into the balloon-like body 6, but rather the balloon-like body 6 and the rod 9 are located side by side. The front end of the balloon-like body 6 is connected to the front end of the rod 9 via a cord 10 or the like.

Furthermore, in the 4b to 4e recognizable that the upper end of the balloon-like body 6 in the region of the valve opening of the cap 4 bears directly against the inner wall of the formed in this cap 4 axial through-hole. This has the advantage that no air gap remains, with which the liquid 7 could come into contact. This training is also applicable to the above-described embodiments.

The basic principle of filling corresponds to that basic principle, as has already been described above. This means that the rod 9 is introduced with its balloon-like body 6 in the container opening 2 of the container 1 ( Fig. 4a and 4b ). After opening a valve, the balloon-like body 6 is filled with air, so that by the associated displacement effect via an outlet valve, the air in the container 1 is forced out and thus exits ( Fig. 4c and 4d ). Similarly, a vacuum can also be applied here in the container 1, so that due to the pressure difference of the balloon-like body 6 fills with air.

Subsequently, the air is discharged from the balloon-like body 6 again. Since this balloon-like body 6 is a kind of balloon, it automatically contracts when the air is released, thereby pushing out the air contained in the balloon-like body 6 ( Fig. 4e ). At the same time, the liquid 7 is sucked into the container 1 or the liquid 7 is supplied with pressure. Finally, then the filling can be pulled out of the container 1 and used for a subsequent filling ( Fig. 4f ).

The advantage of using the above-described rod 9 is that it comes to rest during filling of the balloon-like body 6 with air between the outer surface of this balloon-like body 6 and the inner surface of the container 1 such that along the rod 9 forms a gap. This creates a possibility that all air can escape from the container 1, if any air bubbles should form, if the balloon-like body 6 should inflate correspondingly unfavorable. This is in the sectional view too Fig. 4d recognizable. In this case, the gap reduces automatically with increasing expansion of the balloon-like body 6. The air gap virtually ensures itself to minimize or eliminate.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

container

2

container opening

3

pipe

4

cap

5

opening

6

balloon-like body

7

liquid

8th

expansion medium

9

Rod

10

line

Claims (10)

1. A device for filling a container (1) in the form of a bottle with a liquid (7), which is intended in particular for consumption,
   comprising an attachment for the container opening (2), wherein said attachment encompasses an opening (5), through which the liquid (7) can be supplied to the container (1), comprising at least one balloon-type body (6), which is liquid-tight as well as gas-tight with respect to the liquid (7), as well as
   comprising an elongate support, which is assigned to the balloon-type body (6) and which is arranged at the attachment (4),
   wherein the support together with the at least one balloon-type body (6) can initially be inserted into the empty container (1) for filling purposes,
   wherein the at least one balloon-type body (6) can subsequently be filled and inflated by means of an expansion medium (8), so that the balloon-type body (6) fills the interior of the container (1), and
   wherein the expansion medium (8) is finally allowed to escape from the balloon-type body (6) again, so that the liquid (7) to be filled in can be supplied into the space between the balloon-type body (6) and the container (1), which was created in this manner,
   characterised in that
   the attachment is a cap (4), which can be attached to the container opening (2) and which rests on the container opening (2) in a liquid-tight manner after being attached,
   that the balloon-type body (6) is fastened tightly to the cap (4) by means of its upper circumferential edge and
   that the lateral opening (5), which is provided in the cap (4), ends laterally in the balloon-type body (6) for supplying the liquid (7).
2. The device according to claim 1,
   characterised in that
   the balloon-type body (6) expands when the expansion medium (8) is supplied and returns into its initial shape again after the expansion medium (8) has escaped.
3. The device according to claim 1,
   characterised in that
   the balloon-type body (6) is non-expandable.
4. The device according to any one of the preceding claims,
   characterised in that
   the expansion medium (8) can be emptied from the at least one balloon-type body (6) or the balloon-type bodies (6) such that the interior of the container (1) can be successively filled with the liquid (1) from the container opening (2) toward the end remote from the container opening (2).
5. The device according to any one of the preceding claims,
   characterised in that
   the support is a tube (3), on which the at least one balloon-type body (6) is arranged in a liquid-tight as well as gas-tight manner and envelopes said tube at least partially and thereby rests against said tube (3) in the initial state, and
   that the tube (3) encompasses at least one outlet opening for the expansion medium (8), via which the expansion medium (8) supplied to the tube (3) enters into the balloon-type body (6) and inflates the latter and via which the expansion medium (8) escapes again.
6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims,
   characterised in that
   provision is made for at least one rod (9) as support, against which the balloon-type body (6) rests.
7. The device according to claim 6,
   characterised in that
   the rod (9) is either flexible or the longitudinal contour thereof is matched to the inner contour of the container (1).
8. The device according to claim 6 or 7,
   characterised in that
   the front end of the rod (9) is connected to the front end of the balloon-type body (6) by means of a string (10) or by means of a wire or the like.
9. The device according to any one of the preceding claims,
   characterised in that
   the outer surface of the balloon-type body (6) encompasses raised portions, in particular knobshaped raised portions.
10. The device according to any one of the preceding claims,
    characterised in that
    a gas, in particular air, or a liquid, in particular water, is provided as expansion medium (8) for filling the balloon-type body (6).

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