EP3596001B1 - Device for evacuating a container with pasty liquid - Google Patents

Description

• während des Befüllens des Behälters mit der Flüssigkeit zum Vermeiden von Lufteinschlüssen oder Blasen in der Flüssigkeit und/oder
• vor Entnahme der Flüssigkeit beim Einsetzen einer Fassfolgeplatte in den Behälter zum Beseitigen von Luft zwischen der Materialoberfläche der im Fass befindlichen Flüssigkeit und der Fassfolgeplatte bis zu deren Aufsetzen auf die Flüssigkeitsoberfläche.

The present invention relates to a device for evacuating a container which contains a particularly pasty liquid, in particular for evacuation

• during the filling of the container with the liquid to avoid air inclusions or bubbles in the liquid and / or
• before removing the liquid when inserting a barrel follower plate into the container to remove air between the material surface of the liquid in the barrel and the barrel follower plate until it is placed on the liquid surface.

It is a known procedural task, for example in plastics production and processing, pasty (highly viscous) materials (which are filled into cylindrical containers or barrels, usually made of sheet metal or plastic, for storage, transport and direct removal during a dosing process) for further processing with pumps (usually special pumps for highly viscous liquids) from the barrels. This also applies in particular to materials that are not self-leveling, i.e. are so viscous that they not only form a flat, horizontal liquid surface due to their own weight - but generally also all materials that can be conveyed directly from the containers into the dosing process, namely, as a rule, all materials that can be further processed without having to be stirred or homogenized. So-called "barrel follower plates" are used for this. The feed pumps can be mounted on it. These follower plates are assemblies with cylindrical rings or plates that seal into the barrel retract, namely sealing rings seal the assembly to the barrel wall. They are inserted into the drum (after removing the actual drum cover) and are provided with sealing rings, which completely seal the drum follower plate to the drum wall. In this way, they form a hermetically sealed, rigid cover over the liquid and, together with the barrel container, completely and tightly enclose the liquid. The drum follower plates are then actively (guided and driven) pressed onto the material. In well-known processes, they slide down when material is removed by their own weight or by negative pressure. For this purpose, the containers used in this context are usually barrels, the interior of which has a cylindrical, in particular circular-cylindrical inner contour (possibly with stiffening longitudinal or circumferential beads), the inner contour usually opening without tapering into an outer opening of the interior, namely into the barrel opening to the outside.

In any case, it can be essential for pumping highly viscous liquids, on the one hand due to the nature of the pumps used and on the other hand for metering accuracy when pumping, that there is as little or no air inclusions as possible in the liquid, or at least as few and as small as possible. In terms of process technology, air in the system is a disadvantageous event because, above a certain amount and size of air inclusions, the feed pumps cannot compress it against the material in the system and / or because the air introduced leads to mixing ratio problems or even to the process being aborted if the pumping of the Liquid, especially metered, is part of a precisely metered mixing process.

From the DE 10 2007 003 972 A1 a partition plate is known from porous material for the removal of highly viscous media mostly cylindrical, barrel-like containers with bottom and wall by means of a barrel follower plate and a feed pump. In order to avoid contamination and air inclusions, the air is sucked off by means of a vacuum pump via an air-permeable, material-impermeable partition plate, while the underside of the follower plate is protected from contamination at the same time.

The present invention is based on the object of creating a device which is designed to prevent the container from collapsing when air is sucked into containers with, in particular, highly viscous liquid, in particular to eliminate or avoid air inclusions.

This object is achieved by a device with the features of claim 1. Preferred refinements are given in the subclaims.

The device according to the invention is used to evacuate a container that contains a liquid, in particular pasty, in particular firstly during the filling of the container with the liquid (to remove bubbles or air inclusions in it) and / or secondly before the (in particular highly precise) dosing of the liquid in a subsequent mixing process (to remove air above the liquid surface in the space between a drum follower plate before removal for dosing). The device according to the invention is equipped with a lid assembly (or a so-called barrel follower plate - which can also be understood in the broadest sense as a lid assembly in the sense of the invention), which is adapted to close an opening of a container vacuum-tight, and which has a connection device that are on the outside of the Lid assembly is arranged and which is adapted to connect an evacuation pump. By means of this evacuation pump or "vacuum pump", the interior of the container can be placed under the greatest possible negative pressure (under so-called vacuum). This can cause air inclusions in the liquid to be sucked out (especially during refilling into the barrel), the more completely the stronger the negative pressure is.

For example, using the device according to the invention, a cylindrical container or barrel can be filled, the supplied liquid being hermetically sealed by a vacuum-tight cover assembly which specializes in this filling, for example, and which hermetically seals the barrel on the top (and above the surface of the liquid in the barrel) Example, by resting on it), is filled in such a way that the liquid must flow through the vacuum space (above the surface of the liquid in the barrel). Should air be conveyed with the supplied liquid, the air is immediately sucked off via the vacuum, and thus a filled one is created Barrel that can no longer contain any (or at least significantly less) air inclusions in the material.

This filling according to the invention can also take place through a drum follower plate, which then, so to speak, forms the vacuum-tight cover assembly just described and is equipped with a corresponding liquid feed. After this filling, the drum follower plate is then controlled under continued vacuum and slowly lowered in order to finally touch the surface of the liquid. In this way, disruptions in the following dispensing and removal process caused by air between the liquid surface and the drum follower plate can be avoided: The liquid feed pump (which is located on the follower plate, for example) is now activated (by means of pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or by means of electrical units) by pressing the follower plate onto the material. Filled: Material is pressed into the feed pump - and this takes place without air inclusions, because the space above the liquid (through which the follower plate is lowered through) is evacuated before and then during lowering and consequently no air is pressed into the feed pump.

Or, according to a further possibility, the device according to the invention is only used for changing drums under vacuum, for example in a mixing device in which mostly two liquids (certainly also a low-viscosity liquid, for example through a pressure vessel) are mixed with one another in a metered manner. If a barrel needs to be replaced in such a device because it no longer contains enough liquid, the venting of the volume area above the liquid can also take place according to the invention in this situation for the reasons mentioned: According to the invention, the follower plate can be controlled under full vacuum and slowly onto the material surface be lowered in order to avoid interference from air between the liquid surface and the drum follower plate in the subsequent dispensing / removal process and to press liquid into the feed pump without air inclusions.

In order to avoid in all these different applications of the invention that have been described so far that not only the air inclusions are sucked out of the liquid and the space in the container above the liquid by (especially strongest possible) negative pressure, but possibly also the container by the strong negative pressure collapsed, the device is also equipped according to the invention with a collapse avoidance device, which is set up to suck areas of the outer sides of the container that are threatened with collapse outwards - so to speak, to generate a counter-negative pressure against the negative pressure in the container. For this purpose, the collapse avoidance device is adapted to surround at least one area of the outer sides of the walls of the container with a seal running around the area. The collapse avoidance device thus adjoins the wall outside in a vacuum-tight manner and, together with the wall outside, forms a negative pressure-tight collapse avoidance chamber which has a connection device which is set up to connect an evacuation pump. By means of this evacuation pump, the collapse avoidance chamber formed in this way can itself be placed under vacuum, so that during this evacuation of the collapse avoidance chamber the negative pressure therein also becomes effective on the outer wall of the container. The negative pressure in the collapse avoidance chamber sucks the outside of the container wall outwards and can bring about an equilibrium of forces between the outside of the container wall and its inside (where the negative pressure acts to suck out the air or air pockets) - and thus prevent the container from collapsing.

The collapse avoidance device is adapted in particular to the walls of a circular cylindrical container, in particular a cylindrical sheet steel lidded barrel or cylindrical plastic container, specifically preferably to areas of the outer sides of walls of the cylinder jacket surface and / or the bottom of the container.

The collapse avoidance device is preferably set up to stand on a level floor. It preferably has an overall vacuum-tight side wall assembly, at least the inside of which has the shape of a circular cylinder jacket surface, as well as an overall vacuum-tight bottom wall assembly. The cylinder axis is preferably oriented vertically when the collapse avoidance device is placed on the floor. The side wall assembly preferably has an inner diameter which is at least as large as the diameter of the circular cylindrical container to which the device is adapted, and a height which is approximately as large as the height of the circular cylindrical container to which the device is adapted .

The vacuum-tight base wall assembly connects, for example, completely vacuum-tight to the lower edge of the side wall assembly, and the upper edge of the side wall assembly has a circumferential seal which is adapted, vacuum-tight to the wall outside of the upper edge area of a standing in the collapse prevention device to connect circular cylindrical container. Configured in this way, the collapse avoidance device can cover the entire surface of the container standing therein on the outside and allow negative pressure to take effect on the entire cylinder jacket surface and the bottom surface of its outer sides. Only the upper end face of the circular cylindrical container, which is usually designed as a drum cover, remains free from the device and thus accessible.

In order to be able to place the container in the device, it is preferred that the side wall assembly has a door, in particular one, two or more-winged, which, when opened, releases an opening that extends over the entire height of the side wall assembly and whose width is greater is than the diameter of the circular cylindrical container to which the device is adapted.

In order to be able to push the container more easily into the device, it is preferred that the bottom wall assembly has heavy-duty rollers or ball rollers on the inside.

In order to be able to use a drum follower plate in a cylindrical container, it is preferred that the interior of the container to which the device is adapted has a cylindrical inner contour, and that the cover assembly has a follower plate with a seal that is mounted on a The circumference of the follower plate is arranged and adapted to be inserted circumferentially sealingly into the cylindrical inner contour of the container and that the follower plate is adapted to be guided by a guide translationally vertically downwards in the direction of the cylinder axis of the container oriented in this way so that the follower plate can be lowered in the direction of the cylinder axis down to a liquid level (the liquid in the container). It is particularly preferred that the device as a whole is adapted to a container for the liquid, which is a smooth-walled sheet steel lidded drum with a clamping ring closure or a cylindrical plastic container.

Figur 1

eine schematische Vorderansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung beim Befüllen eines Behälters mittels einer erfindungsgemäß darauf spezialisierten Deckelbaugruppe,

Figur 2

eine schematische Vorderansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung beim Befüllen eines Behälters mittels einer erfindungsgemäß darauf spezialisierten Fassfolgeplatte,

Figur 3

eine schematische Vorderansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung beim Absenken einer Fassfolgeplatte nach einem Behälterwechsel in einer Mischmaschine,

Figur 4

eine schematische Vorderansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung nach dem Absenken der Fassfolgeplatte beim Fördern von Flüssigkeit in eine Mischmaschine,

Figur 5

eine Vorderansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Kollabiervermeidungseinrichtung mit geschlossener Tür,

Figur 6

eine geschnittene Vorderansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Kollabiervermeidungseinrichtung nach Figur 5 mit eingesetztem Behälter,

Figur 7

eine räumlich Ansicht der Kollabiervermeidungseinrichtung ohne eingesetzten Behälter mit geöffneter Tür, und

Figur 8

eine räumlich Ansicht der Kollabiervermeidungseinrichtung ohne eingesetzten Behälter mit geöffneter Tür, ohne Behälter, aber mit eingesetzter Zentrierplatte für den Behälter.

These and other advantages and features of the invention are further described with reference to the following illustrations of an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Show in it

Figure 1

a schematic front view of a device according to the invention when filling a container by means of a lid assembly according to the invention specialized thereon,

Figure 2

a schematic front view of the device according to the invention when filling a container by means of a barrel follower plate specializing in this according to the invention,

Figure 3

a schematic front view of the device according to the invention when lowering a drum follower plate after a container change in a mixer,

Figure 4

a schematic front view of the device according to the invention after the lowering of the drum follower plate when conveying liquid into a mixer,

Figure 5

a front view of a collapse avoidance device according to the invention with the door closed,

Figure 6

a sectional front view of the collapse avoidance device according to the invention Figure 5 with inserted container,

Figure 7

a three-dimensional view of the collapse avoidance device without the container inserted with the door open, and

Figure 8

a three-dimensional view of the collapse avoidance device without inserted container with open door, without container, but with inserted centering plate for the container.

The device 2 shown serves to evacuate a circular cylindrical container 4 (shown in the form of a cylindrical sheet steel lidded barrel 4) which contains a pasty liquid 6, in particular firstly during the filling of the container with the liquid (to avoid bubbles or air inclusions therein; Figures 1 and 2 ) and secondly to remove air above the liquid surface 6 in the space 8 to a drum follower plate 10 when it is lowered onto the liquid surface 6 ( Figures 1 and 2 ). The device 2 is equipped with a drum follower plate 10 for this purpose ( Figures 2 to 4 ; or with one just on filling specialized lid assembly according to Figure 1 ), which is adapted to close a top opening 12 of the container 4 in a vacuum-tight manner. It has a connection device 14 which is arranged on the outside of the drum follower plate 10 and which is set up for the connection of a vacuum pump 16. By means of this vacuum pump 16, the interior of the container 4 (and also the liquid 6 in the container 4) can be placed under vacuum.

This is achieved in two application examples according to Figures 1 and 2 a sucking out of air inclusions in the liquid 18 during the filling or refilling into the barrel 4, the more completely the stronger the negative pressure is.

Thus, using the device 2, a cylindrical container 4 can be filled, with the supplied liquid (indicated schematically by the arrows 18) passing through the vacuum-tight cover assembly 10 (either according to a cover assembly specialized only in filling Figure 1 or a drum follower plate specializing in filling Figure 2 , which hermetically seals the barrel 4 at the top (and above the surface 6 of the liquid 6 in the barrel), is filled in such a way that the liquid 18 must flow through the vacuum space 8 (above the surface 6 of the liquid in the barrel). Should air be conveyed with the supplied liquid 18, the air is immediately sucked off via the vacuum (generated by the vacuum pump 16), and thus a filled barrel is created which cannot contain any (or at least significantly smaller) air inclusions in the material 6.

The drum follower plate 10 can then be controlled and slowly lowered after filling under continued vacuum, in order to finally touch the liquid surface 6 with its underside. This is also further described below ( Figures 3 and 4 ).

According to another possibility ( Figures 3 and 4 ) namely, the device 2 for changing the drum under vacuum (generated by the vacuum pump 16) is used in a mixing device (not shown). If one of the barrels 4 in such a mixing device has to be replaced, for example because it no longer contains sufficient liquid, the venting of the volume area of the respective replaced, filled barrel 4 above the liquid 6 contained therein can be achieved by means of the device 2. In this way, the follower plate 10 can be controlled (with the vacuum generated by the vacuum pump 16) and slowly lowered onto the material surface 6 in order, for example, to avoid any interference from air between the liquid surface 6 and the drum follower plate 10 in the following metering and removal process: pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or by means of electrical units; not shown) the liquid feed pump 20 is filled by pressing the follower plate 10 onto the material 6: material is pressed into the feed pump 20 - and this takes place without air inclusions, because already before and then during the lowering ( Figure 3 ) the space 8 above the liquid 6 (through which the follower plate 10 is lowered) is evacuated by the vacuum pump 16 and consequently no air is pressed into the feed pump. In order to avoid the negative pressure not only sucking air and air pockets from the liquid 6, 18 and from the vacuum space 8 (above the surface 6 of the liquid 6 in the barrel 4), but possibly also the container 4 through the strong If negative pressure collapses, the device 2 is also equipped with a collapse avoidance device 22, which is set up to suck the outer sides of the collapsing walls of the container 4 outwards - so to speak, to generate a counter-negative pressure against the negative pressure in the container 4. For this purpose, the collapse avoidance device 22 is adapted to surround the outside of almost all the walls of the container 4 with a seal 24 running around the outside. The seal 24 of the collapse avoidance device 22 is set up, To connect vacuum-tight to the wall outer side 26 and together with the wall outer side forms a vacuum-tight collapse avoidance chamber 28 which has a connection device which is set up for the connection of an evacuation pump 29. By means of this evacuation pump, the collapse avoidance chamber 28 formed in this way (which surrounds the entire base 30 and the entire cylinder jacket surface to just below the upper edge 32 of the barrel 4) can itself be placed under vacuum, so that the collapse avoidance chamber is also under vacuum during this evacuation on the outside of the wall of the container 4. The negative pressure in the collapse avoidance chamber 28 sucks the outside of the container wall 4 outwards and can bring about an equilibrium of forces between the outside of the container wall 4 and its inside (where the negative pressure for sucking out the air or air pockets is present) - and thus prevent the container 4 from collapsing .

The collapse avoidance device 22 is set up to stand on a level floor 33. It has an overall vacuum-tight side wall assembly 34, the inner side 36 of which has a total of approximately the contour of a circular cylinder jacket surface, as well as an overall vacuum-tight bottom wall assembly 38. As in FIG Figures 5 and 6 shown placed on the floor 40, the cylinder axis 42 is oriented vertically. The side wall assembly 34 has an inner diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the container 4 to which the device is adapted, and a height which is slightly less than the height of the container 4. Thus, when mounted, the side wall assembly 34 reaches just below the upper edge 32 of the barrel 4 ( Figure 6 ).

The wall assemblies 34, 38, which together form a vacuum-tight wall, adjoin the vacuum-tight just below the upper edge 32 of the container 4 by means of the seal 24 on the wall outer side 26 of the container 4: the upper edge of the side wall assembly 34 has a circumferential seal 24 , which is adapted to be connected in a vacuum-tight manner to the wall outer side 26 of the upper edge region of the circular cylindrical container 4 standing in the collapse avoidance device 22. Configured in this way, the collapse avoidance device 22 can cover the entire surface of the container 4 standing therein on the outside and allow negative pressure to take effect on the entire cylinder jacket surface and the bottom surface of its outer sides. Only the upper end face of the circular cylindrical container 4, which is designed as a barrel opening 12, remains free from the device 22 and thus accessible.

In order to be able to place the container 4 in the device 22, the side wall assembly 34 has a double-leaf door 44 which, when opened, reveals an opening ( Figures 7 and 8 ), which extends over the entire height of the side wall assembly 34 and whose width is greater than the diameter of the circular cylindrical container 4 to which the device 2, 22 is adapted. Closed ( Figures 5 and 6 ) all the joints of the door 44 are sealed by seals 45 so that overall a hermetically sealed, cup-shaped trough with a circular cylindrical inner contour as a collapse avoidance device 22 results. Only its upper edge is adapted to be connected to the wall outside of the container 4 in a vacuum-tight manner by means of the circumferential seal 24 just below the upper edge 32 of the container 4.

In order to be able to push the container 4 more easily into the device 22, the base wall assembly has heavy-duty ball rollers 46 on the inside. For centering in the collapse avoidance device 22, the container 4 is placed on a centering plate 48 before being pushed in, onto which it fits with its lower flanged edge in a form-fitting manner.

In order to be able to use the barrel follower plate 10 in the cylindrical container 4, the follower plate has a seal 52 which is arranged on a circumference of the follower plate 10 and adapted to the cylindrical inner contour of the container 4 to be used circumferentially in a sealing manner. In addition, the follower plate is adapted to be guided translationally vertically downwards by a guide 54 in the direction of the cylinder axis 42 of the container 4 oriented in this way so that the follower plate 10 can be lowered in the direction of the cylinder axis down onto the liquid level 6 in the container . <b> List of reference symbols </b> Evacuation device 2 Container, sheet steel lidded drum 4 Pasty liquid 6 Space 8 Lid assembly, drum follower plate 10 Upper opening 12 of the container 4 Connection device 14 Evacuation pump, lid vacuum pump 16 of the lid assembly, barrel follower plate 10 Supplied liquid 18 Liquid transfer pump 20 Collapse avoidance device 22 Seal 24 Wall outside 26 Collapse Prevention Chamber 28 Evacuation pump, chamber vacuum pump 29 of chamber 28 Floor 30 Upper margin 32 Level floor 33 Sidewall assembly 34 Inside 36 of the side wall assembly 34 Bottom Wall Assembly 38 Cylinder axis 42 Door 44 Door seals 45 Heavy Duty Ball Transfer Units 46 Centering plate 48 Seal 52 of the follower plate 10 Leadership 54

Claims (8)

1. Device (2) for evacuating a container (4) containing a liquid (6),

   - firstly, in order to avoid air pockets or bubbles in the liquid (6) while filling the container (4) with the liquid and/or

   - secondly, in order to eliminate air between the material surface of the liquid (6) in the container (4) and a drum follower plate (10) until the latter is set down on the surface of the liquid when inserting the drum follower plate in the container before removing the liquid,

   with a lid assembly (10) for filling the container (4) or a drum follower plate (10) which is adapted to seal an opening (12) of a container (4) in a vacuum-tight manner and which has a connection device (14) which is arranged on the outer side of the lid assembly and which is configured for the connection of a vacuum pump (16) for the interior of the container (4),
   characterised by a collapse-preventing means (22) which, with a seal (24), is adapted to surround at least one cylinder-barrel-formed region of the outer sides of walls of the container (4), with the seal (24) running circumferentially around this region, and to connect to the outer side of the wall in a vacuum-tight manner and to form, together with the outer side of the wall, a vacuum-tight collapse-preventing chamber (28) which has a connection device which is configured for the connection of an evacuating pump (29) for the collapse-preventing chamber (28), so that on evacuation of the collapse-preventing chamber (28) the negative pressure therein acts on the outer side of the wall (26).
2. Device according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the collapse-preventing means (22) is adapted to regions of the outer sides of walls of a circular cylindrical container (4), in particular of a sheet steel lidded drum or plastic container.
3. Device according to the preceding claim with a circular cylindrical container made of sheet metal or plastic to which the device is adapted, characterised in that the collapse-preventing means (22) is adapted to regions of the outer sides of walls of the cylinder surface and/or of the base of the container (4).
4. Device according to one of the two preceding claims with a circular cylindrical container made of sheet metal or plastic to which the device is adapted, characterised in that the collapse-preventing means (22) is configured to stand on a level base (30), and has an, as a whole, vacuum-tight side wall assembly (34) of the collapse-preventing chamber (28), at least the inner side (36) of which has the form of a circular cylinder surface

   - with vertically oriented cylinder axis (42) and

   - with an inner diameter which is at least as great as the diameter of the circular cylindrical container (4) to which the device (2) is adapted, and

   - with a height which approximately as great as the height of the circular cylindrical container (4) to which the device (2) is adapted,

   as well as an, as a whole, vacuum-tight base wall assembly (38) which, over its entire circumference, connects in a vacuum-tight manner to the lower edge of the side wall assembly (34), and that the upper edge of the side wall assembly has a peripheral seal (24) which is adapted to connect, in a vacuum-tight manner, to the outer side of the wall (26) of the upper edge region of a container (4) standing in the collapse-preventing means (22) .
5. Device according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the side wall assembly (34) has an in particular single-winged, double-winged or multiple-winged door (44) which, when opened, exposes an opening which extends over the entire height of the side wall assembly (34) and the width of which is greater than the diameter of the container (4) to which the device is adapted.
6. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, characterised in that the base wall assembly (38) has on its inner side heavy duty rollers or ball rollers (46) .
7. Device according to one of the preceding claims with a circular cylindrical container made of sheet metal or plastic to which the device is adapted, characterised in that the interior of the container (4) to which the device (4) is adapted has a cylindrical inner contour, and that the lid assembly (10) has a follower plate with a seal which is arranged on a circumference of the follower plate and is adapted to be insertable in the cylindrical inner contour of the container (4), creating a peripheral seal, and that the follower plate is adapted to be guided moveably by a guide (54), in a translatory manner, vertically downwards in the direction of the cylinder axis (42) of the container (4) oriented in this way, in such a way that the follower plate can be lowered downwards in the direction of the cylinder axis to a liquid level of the liquid (6) in the container (4).
8. Device according to one of the preceding claims with a circular cylindrical container made of sheet metal or plastic to which the device is adapted, characterised in that the container (4) is a smooth-walled cylindrical sheet steel lidded drum with clamping ring closure (4) or a cylindrical plastic container.

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