EP3670433A1 - Device for filling a fill product - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for filling a filling product into a container (7), preferably for filling a drink into a beverage container in a beverage filling system, comprising a valve housing (2) with a valve seat (20), one relative to the valve seat ( 20) movable valve cone (3), and a swirl body (4) arranged downstream of the valve cone (3) for applying a swirl to the filling product flowing past the valve cone (3), the valve cone (3) via the swirl body (4) on the Valve housing (2) is mounted.

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a device for filling a filling product into a container to be filled, for example for filling a beverage into a beverage container in a beverage filling system.

State of the art

It is known to use devices for filling a filling product or filling elements in beverage filling systems to introduce the respective filling product, for example a beverage, into the containers to be filled. For this purpose, the containers, for example PET bottles, are arranged below the filling element and in particular below a product outlet of a filling element. A corresponding product valve is then opened in the filling element, by means of which a corresponding amount of filling product is filled into the container to be filled.

So-called cone valves, which have an essentially conical valve cone, which can be moved relative to a valve seat, are often used as product valves in filling elements. In order to allow the filling product to flow out of the product outlet, the valve cone is lifted out of the valve seat accordingly, so that the filling product above it can flow through the annular gap that then arises between the valve cone and the valve seat and accordingly emerges from a product outlet and then runs into the container to be filled .

In conventional devices for filling a filling product, the space located upstream of the valve cone and available to the filling product is intersected by the fact that a valve rod, on which the valve cone is guided and by means of which the valve cone can be raised and lowered, is located upstream in the interior of the valve housing extends. The valve rod is usually guided outside the valve chamber in contact with the product and is connected there to a drive for moving the valve cone. The transition between The space in contact with the product and the outside space in which the drive is arranged is sealed, for example, by means of a bellows. The flow of the filling product is therefore disrupted above the valve seat by the introduced components.

In particular, if the filling product is a filling product to which an additive, for example a syrup, is added in the device, in order to enable adequate mixing of the fill product and additive or additional product, the space to be provided above the valve seat correspondingly run long, which leads to a correspondingly high height of the device.

Furthermore, in conventional devices, a gas displaced from the container during the filling of a container with the filling product is discharged centrally through a return gas pipe provided in the valve cone, which extends inside the valve housing from the valve cone against the direction of flow through the valve cone and the valve rod. The presence of the return gas pipe also requires a minimum cross section of the valve rod.

Such devices therefore do not have an optimal flow geometry. In addition, the geometry of the devices can make it more difficult to rinse out the filling product present above the valve seat, as is desired, for example, when metering in an additive, for example a syrup, or the overall height of the conventional device must be chosen to be correspondingly high.

Presentation of the invention

Starting from the known prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for filling a filling product, preferably for filling a beverage in a beverage filling system.

The object is achieved by a device for filling a filling product, preferably for filling a beverage in a beverage filling system with the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments result from the subclaims, the description and the attached figures.

Accordingly, a device for filling a filling product into a container, preferably for filling a drink into a beverage container in a beverage filling system, is proposed, comprising a valve housing with a valve seat, a valve cone movable relative to the valve seat, and a swirl body arranged downstream of the valve cone Applying a swirl to the fill product flowing past the valve cone. The device is characterized in that the valve cone is mounted on the valve body via the swirl body.

The fact that the valve cone is mounted on the valve body via the swirl body means that there is no need for expensive mounting of the valve cone upstream of the valve cone. In addition, the flow cross-section of a supply line provided by the valve housing upstream of the valve cone can be configured essentially undisturbed. As a result, the device upstream of the valve cone can be made more compact than was possible in conventional devices upstream of the valve cone.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the swirl body is fixed to the valve housing and the valve cone is slidably mounted on the swirl body. As a result, secure mounting and guidance of the valve cone can be achieved in a simple manner. In addition, there is no need for a complex bearing construction that narrows the inflow cross section upstream of the valve cone.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the valve cone is fixedly connected to the swirl body and the swirl body is mounted displaceably on the valve housing. As a result, the valve cone and the swirl body can be preassembled before the device is assembled, so that the assembly can be facilitated.

It has proven to be advantageous if the swirl body is optionally arranged downstream of the valve cone. Thus, a flow of the filling product which is set in accordance with the position of the valve cone relative to the valve seat can always be subjected to a swirl in a constant manner.

According to a further preferred embodiment, a drive for moving the valve cone relative to the valve seat is arranged downstream of the valve seat, the drive preferably comprising an electrically acting drive, a magnetically acting drive, a pneumatically acting drive and / or a hydraulically acting drive, the Drive is preferably arranged downstream of the valve cone.

As a result, the position of the valve cone can be controlled / regulated relative to the valve seat without the device having a reduced flow cross section due to components arranged upstream of the valve cone for controlling the position of the valve cone for the filling product or should have an extended overall height. Such a device can therefore provide a particularly compact structure.

The drives mentioned can also be used to regulate or control the expansion of the annular gap between the valve seat and the valve cone, in order in this way to achieve a control or regulation of the filling product flow emerging from the filling element. In this way, for example, a predetermined or desired volume flow profile can be achieved during the filling process.

A control valve, for example a proportional valve, can also be provided upstream of the valve housing, for example in a filling product feed line, by means of which the filling product flow from the filling element can be regulated or controlled. If such a control valve is provided, regulation or control of the annular gap between the valve seat and the valve cone can be dispensed with. In such a case, the valve cone can then only be switched between a fully open and a fully closed position.

If the swirl body is fixedly arranged on the valve housing and the valve cone is slidably mounted on the swirl body, the swirl body can optionally be designed as a counter bearing for driving the valve cone. Thus, the relative forces resulting from driving or moving the valve cone relative to the valve seat can be absorbed and transmitted via the swirl body, so that the device can be constructed in a particularly compact manner.

A seal, preferably a bellows, is preferably provided between the valve cone and the swirl body in order to be able to seal mutual contact surfaces and / or surfaces of the swirl body and the valve cone which are movable relative to one another.

Alternatively, if the valve cone is fixedly connected to the swirl body and the swirl body is slidably mounted on the valve housing, the drive can optionally be designed to move the unit consisting of swirl body and valve cone. As a result, a dynamic seal for sealing off a relative movement between the swirl body and the valve cone can be dispensed with, since these are rigidly connected to one another. In this preferred embodiment, a dynamic seal is preferably provided between the swirl body and the valve body.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the drive, viewed in the flow direction of the filling product, is arranged on the side of the swirl body. This enables a particularly compact construction of the device, in particular in the longitudinal direction of the device, to be achieved. In particular, the overall structural height can be reduced in this way compared to designs in which the drive is arranged at the upper end of the valve body.

In order to optionally allow gases displaced during the filling of the filling product from a container to be filled by the inflowing filling product, according to a further preferred embodiment a discharge line can be provided in the valve housing for the lateral discharge of gases displaced when filling the filling product from a container to be filled be provided, wherein the discharge line can preferably enter into fluid communication and / or be in fluid communication with a return gas pipe extending in the swirl body and / or in the valve cone.

In order to be able to optionally mix the filling product into a container to be filled before filling, a metering unit for metering an additional product, in particular a syrup, can optionally be provided above the valve cone.

If, according to a further preferred embodiment, the swirl body is arranged at an outlet of the valve housing, a particularly compact structure of the device can be achieved. This also ensures that the filling product enters the container with a predetermined swirl.

Brief description of the figures

Figur 1

schematisch eine Schnittansicht einer Vorrichtung zum Abfüllen eines Füllprodukts gemäß einer bevorzugten Ausführungsform;

Figur 2

schematisch eine Schnittansicht einer weiteren bevorzugten Ausführungsform einer Vorrichtung zum Abfüllen eines Füllprodukts;

Figur 3

schematisch eine Schnittansicht einer Vorrichtung zum Abfüllen eines Füllprodukts gemäß einer weiteren bevorzugten Ausführungsform;

Figur 4

schematisch eine Schnittansicht einer weiteren bevorzugten Ausführungsform einer Vorrichtung zum Abfüllen eines Füllprodukts; und

Figur 5

schematisch eine Schnittansicht einer weiteren bevorzugten Ausführungsform einer Vorrichtung zum Abfüllen eines Füllprodukts.

Preferred further embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. Show:

Figure 1

schematically shows a sectional view of a device for filling a filling product according to a preferred embodiment;

Figure 2

schematically shows a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device for filling a filling product;

Figure 3

schematically shows a sectional view of a device for filling a filling product according to a further preferred embodiment;

Figure 4

schematically shows a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device for filling a filling product; and

Figure 5

schematically shows a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device for filling a filling product.

Detailed description of preferred exemplary embodiments

Preferred exemplary embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. Identical, similar or equivalent elements in the different figures are provided with identical reference numerals, and a repeated description of these elements is partially omitted in order to avoid redundancies.

In Figure 1 a sectional view of a device 1 for filling a filling product according to a preferred embodiment is shown schematically.

The device 1 is designed for filling a beverage into a beverage container (not shown here), for example a glass bottle or PET bottle, in a beverage filling system. The device 1 comprises a valve housing 2 with a valve seat 20, a valve cone 3 movable relative to the valve seat 20, and a swirl body 4 arranged downstream of the valve cone 3 for applying a swirl to the filling product flowing past the valve cone 3.

The valve cone 3 is mounted on the valve housing 2 via the swirl body 3, such that the swirl body 4 is fixedly arranged on the valve housing 2 and the valve cone 3 is displaceably mounted on the swirl body 4.

For this purpose, the valve plug 3 is held displaceably in the longitudinal direction 10 of the device 1 in a guide opening 41 of the swirl body 4 by means of a valve plug rod 30.

Alternatively, the valve cone 3 can also be firmly connected to the swirl body 4 and the swirl body 4 can then be slidably mounted on the valve housing 2.

By moving the valve cone 3 relative to the valve seat 20, an annular gap 90 which is formed in accordance with the distance between the valve cone 3 and the valve seat 20 can be provided or closed in a manner known per se, the dimension of the annular gap 90 being used to control / regulate a volume flow of the filling product past the valve cone 3 and can be used by the swirl body 4 arranged downstream of the valve cone 3.

The swirl body 4 has a plurality of guide vanes 40, by means of which a swirl can be applied to the filling product flowing past the valve cone 3 in the flow direction 9. In this way, it can in particular be achieved that the filling product bears against an inner wall of the outlet 21 of the valve housing 21 and thus flows into an inner wall of a container to be filled therein. Thus, in the middle of the filling product flow flowing into the container, a space for a return gas flow of the gas displaced from the container by the inflowing filling product can be provided.

A drive 5 for moving the valve plug 3 relative to the valve seat 20 is arranged downstream of the valve seat 20 and the valve cone 3, the drive 5 in this optional embodiment comprising an electrically acting drive 5. The swirl body 4 acts here as a counter bearing for the drive 5 of the valve cone 3.

The drive 5 is arranged on the side of the swirl body 4, as seen in the flow direction 9 of the filling product. In this case, a controllable / adjustable exciter unit 50 is provided on the valve housing 50, which acts on a rotor unit 51 arranged on the valve plug stem 30 in a manner known per se, as a result of which the position of the valve plug 3 can be controlled / regulated or adjusted in the longitudinal direction 10.

The device 1 also has a discharge line 6 integrated into the valve housing 2 for the lateral discharge of the return gas displaced from the container to be filled when the filling product is filled.

Figure 2 schematically shows a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device 1 for filling a filling product, which essentially has the same structure Figure 1 corresponds.

The device 1 off Figure 2 furthermore has a discharge line 6 integrated in the valve housing 2 for the lateral discharge of the return gas displaced from the container to be filled when the filling product is filled, the discharge line 6 being in fluid communication with a return gas pipe 42 extending in the swirl body 4. The return gas pipe extends through a central part 43 of the swirl body 4 and one of its guide vanes 40. Alternatively, the return gas pipe 42 can also extend towards the valve body 2 independently of the guide vanes 40. The valve plug 3 is sealed on its valve plug rod 30 with respect to the central part 43 of the swirl body 4 by means of two bellows 22, so that no filler product can penetrate into the contact area between the valve plug rod 30 and the guide opening 41 and become stuck there.

Figure 3 shows schematically a sectional view of a device 1 for filling a filling product according to a further preferred embodiment. Its structure essentially corresponds to that Figure 2 , wherein the swirl body 4 is arranged essentially directly upstream or at the outlet 21 of the valve housing 2.

In the present case, the guide opening 41 is designed as a blind hole, so that there is no need for a downstream bellows.

Furthermore, in Figure 3 a container 7 to be filled is shown, which is brought into sealing contact with the outlet 21.

An optional metering unit 8 for metering an additional product, for example a syrup, is also provided above the valve cone 3.

In Figure 4 a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device 1 for filling a filling product is shown schematically.

The device 1 essentially corresponds to that of Figure 3 , with a pneumatic drive 5 being provided instead of the electric drive. For this purpose, a cylinder chamber 53 of the drive 5 is arranged in the swirl body 4, in which a piston 54 connected to the valve plug stem 30 is displaceably guided in the longitudinal direction 10.

Above and below the piston 54, the drive 5 has lines 55 which extend through the valve housing 2 and the swirl body 4 and which can be opened or closed by means of controllable / regulatable valves 52, so that the pressures above and below the Pistons 54 are adjustable in the cylinder chamber 53 so as to adjust the position of the valve plug 3 relative to the valve seat 20.

Alternatively, the drive 5 can be a hydraulic drive instead of the pneumatic configuration shown.

In Figure 5 a sectional view of a further preferred embodiment of a device 1 for filling a filling product is shown schematically. The device 1 corresponds in large

Share those out Figure 1 . Alternatively to the execution according to Figure 1 is in the device Figure 5 the valve cone 3 is firmly connected to the swirl body 4. In order to provide a relative movement of the valve cone 3 relative to the valve seat 20, the swirl body 4 is mounted on the valve housing 2 so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction 10. The contact point between the valve housing 2 and the swirl body 4 is sealed by bellows 22.

The drive 5 of the device 1 is consequently designed to move the unit comprising swirl body 4 and valve cone 3. In the present preferred embodiment, the drive 5 as a pneumatic drive 5 is analogous to the embodiment Figure 4 formed, the cylinder chamber 53 is arranged in the valve housing 2 and the piston 54 is connected to the swirl body 4. A displacement of the piston 54 in the cylinder chamber 53 consequently results in a displacement of the swirl body 4 in the longitudinal direction 10.

Alternatively, the drive 5 can of course also be an electric drive, as in FIGS Figures 1 to 3 shown, comprise a hydraulic drive, which can be designed essentially analogously to the one shown here, or any other type of suitable drives known per se.

As far as applicable, all individual features that are shown in the exemplary embodiments can be combined with one another and / or exchanged without leaving the scope of the invention.

Reference symbol list

1

contraption

2nd

Valve body

20th

Valve seat

21st

Spout

22

Bellows

3rd

Valve cone

30th

Valve stem

32

piston

4th

Swirl body

40

vane

41

Guide opening

42

Return gas pipe

43

Middle section

5

drive

50

Excitation unit

51

Runner unit

52

Valve

53

Cylinder chamber

54

piston

55

cables

6

Discharge line

7

container

8th

Dosing unit

9

Flow direction

90

Annular gap

10th

Longitudinal direction

Claims (11)

Device (1) for filling a filling product into a container (7), preferably for filling a beverage into a beverage container in a beverage filling system, comprising
a valve housing (2) with a valve seat (20),
a valve cone (3) movable relative to the valve seat (20), and
a swirl body (4) arranged downstream of the valve cone (3) for application
a swirl on the filling product flowing past the valve cone (3),
characterized in that
the valve cone (3) is mounted on the valve body (2) via the swirl body (4). Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the swirl body (4) is fixed to the valve housing (2) and the valve cone (3) is slidably mounted on the swirl body (4). Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve cone (3) is fixedly connected to the swirl body (4) and the swirl body (4) is slidably mounted on the valve housing (2). Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the swirl body (4) is arranged downstream of the valve cone (3). Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a drive (5) for moving the valve cone (3) relative to the valve seat (20) is arranged downstream of the valve seat (20), the drive (5) preferably being electrically acting drive (5), a magnetically acting drive (5), a pneumatically acting drive (5) and / or a hydraulically acting drive (5), the drive (5) preferably being arranged downstream of the valve cone (3). Device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the swirl body (4) is fixedly arranged on the valve housing (20) and the valve cone (3) is slidably mounted on the swirl body (4), the swirl body (4) as a counter bearing is designed for the drive (5) of the valve cone (3). Device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the valve cone (3) is fixedly connected to the swirl body (4) and the swirl body (4) is slidably mounted on the valve housing (2), the drive (5) for moving the unit consists of swirl body (4) and valve cone (3). Device (1) according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the drive (5) in the flow direction (9) of the filling product is arranged on the side of the swirl body (4). Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a discharge line (6) is provided in the valve housing (2) for the lateral discharge of gases displaced when filling the filling product from a container (7) to be filled, the discharge line ( 6) can preferably enter into fluid communication with a return gas pipe (42) extending in the swirl body (4) and / or in the valve cone (3). Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a metering unit (8) for metering in an additional product, in particular a syrup, is provided above the valve cone (3). Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the swirl body (4) is arranged at an outlet (21) of the valve housing (2).

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