GB2138791A - Container filling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The filling apparatus comprises (1) a filling arrangement (SA) disposed at a filling station (FS) and comprising a plurality of filler nozzles (9, 11, 13) disposed in one plane (hereinafter called the "filling plane"); (2) means (7, 51, 53, 55) for stationing at a pre-filling station a plurality of containers of like- orientation, with corresponding side parts positioned substantially in one vertical plane parallel to the filling plane; the number of containers in said plurality of containers equalling the number of nozzles in said plurality of nozzles; and (3) a pusher mechanism (PM) comprising a plurality of reciprocable pusher members; (33, 35, 37) one for each of said plurality of containers, each to push a respective container by acting against the exterior surface of its neck and means (39, 43) for reciprocating said members in a direction normal to the filling plane simultaneously and in synchronism through a fixed distance between a location at the side of the pre-filling station remote from the filling station and the filling station; and (4) a longitudinal neck aligner (NA) comprising, for each nozzle, means (A, B) for displacing a container neck in either direction transversely of the direction of reciprocation of the pusher members so as to bring the axis of the container neck into alignment in the direction of reciprocation of said pusher members into alignment with the respective nozzle axis. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Container filling apparatus The present invention relates to apparatus for filling containers and more particularly to one for filling containers formed with necks; the the latter, after filling of the container, having a closure applied thereto to close the container.

Of such containers, blown or moulded plastics bottles are now especially used for a great variety of products for both industrial and domestic purposes, and a problem arises in filling such containers due to inherent dimensional inaccuracies therein inter alia in the diameter and in the positioning of neck in relation to the container surface of which it is formed.

Due to this, existing apparatuses for filling these containers use a filler nozzle of lesser diameter than could otherwise be used and, on any one filling line, fill only one container at a time. This results in limits in production rates, which it would be desirable to avoid.

For convenience of description hereinafter, it will be assumed that whenever a container is referred to, the container is disposed with the axis of its neck arranged vertically unless the context requires otherwise.

There is provided by the present invention a filling apparatus for necked containers, comprising (1) a filling arrangement disposed at a filling station and comprising a plurality of filler nozzles disposed in one plane (hereinafter called the "filling plane"); (2) means for stationing at a pre-filling station a plurality of containers of like-orientation, with corresponding side parts positioned substantially in one vertical plane parallel to the filling plane; the number of containers in said plurality of containers equalling the number of nozzles in said plurality of nozzles; and (3) a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of reciprocable pusher members; one for each of said plurality of containers, each to push a respective container by acting against the exterior surface of its neck, means for reciprocating said members in a direction normal to the filling plane simultaneously and in synchronism through a fixed distance between a location at the side of the pre-filling station remote from the filling station and the filling station; and (4) a longitudinal neck aligner comprising, for each nozzle, means for displacing a container neck in either direction transversely of the direction of reciprocation of the pusher members so as to bring the axis of the container neck into alignment in the direction of reciprocation of said pusher members into alignment with the respective nozzle axis.

The pusher mechanism ensures that the axes of the containers of the plurality thereof acted upon by the pusher mechanism are disposed in the filling plane on arrival at the filling station; and the longitudinal neck aligner ensures that the axis of each container neck in that plane is coaxial with the respective nozzle axis on arrival of the container at the filling station.

Thus, one filling line can be divided, for the purpose of filling the containers, into a plurality of streams thereby greatly increasing the line speed, and no limitation other than the internal diameter of the container neck is imposed on the diameter of the nozzles employed. The filling rate can therefore be max imised.

It is preferred that the reciprocating means comprise a piston and cylinder unit, preferably pneumatically operated, for effecting reciprocation of the pusher members. The pusher members may simply take the form of flat fingers and these are conveniently supported on a support block secured to the piston and cylinder unit.

The longitudinal neck aligner preferably comprises, for each nozzle, a pair of spacedapart neck guides arranged parallel with the direction of reciprocation of the pusher members, with the neck guides of the pair providing a distance between them at the end thereof nearest the pre-filling station wider than the external diameter of the neck of a container to be filled and providing at the location of the nozzle a spacing substantially equal to that external diameter so that when the neck of the container arrives at the filling station, the axis of the neck lies coaxial with the axis of the nozzle. The neck guides are preferably constituted by flat plates or strips with each pair being turned outwardly at the end thereof nearest the pre-filling station in order to provide the spacing therebetween greater than the external diameter of the neck of a container.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of an apparatus according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of a container located at a filling station of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

The apparatus of the illustrated embodiment is generally indicated at 1 in Fig. 1. It is fed by an input conveyor IP and filled containers are taken from it by an output conveyor OP; the containers, indicated by the container 3 shown in outline in Fig. 1, being of cubic configuration with a raised neck 5 disposed on the upper surface thereof; the apparatus comprises a filling arrangement SA located at a filling station FS above a dead plate 7, a container pusher mechanism generally indicated at PM, a longitudinal aligner generally indicated at NA, and an input device ID.

The filling arrangement comprises four filler nozzles three of which, namely, 9, 11, and 13, are shown in Fig. 1 mounted on a rigid rectangular frame 1 5 supported in fixed sleeves 17, 1 9 mounted in fixed position by any convenient means. The nozzles are carried by an upper cross member 21 of the rectangular frame, and the member 21 also supports a piston and cylinder unit 23, in this instance pneumatically operated, the lower end of the piston of which is fixed to a member 25 bridging the sleeves 1 7 and 1 9 and rigidly mounted thereon.As a result, on operation of the piston and cylinder unit, the nozzles can be moved to a lower position (as shown in Fig. 1) in which the lower end of the nozzles are entered in the necks of containers to be filled and an upper position in which the nozzles are withdrawn from the necks of the containers. The lower member 27 of the rectangular frame makes contact with a limit switch 29 when the nozzles have been moved to the raised position and made contact with the limit switch 31 when the nozzles have been moved to the lower position in order to terminate the stroke of the piston and cylinder unit in the respective direction.

The pusher mechanism comprises four pusher members of which three are shown in Fig. 1, namely, 33, 35 and 37 and a support block 39 therefor on which the pusher members are rigidly mounted. For the purpose of reciprocating the block 39,and thereby the pusher members, the pusher mechanism comprises a reciprocating means in the form of a piston and cylinder unit 41 to the exposed end of the piston 43 of which the block 39 is mounted. In reciprocation of the block 39, it slides on the dead plate. The block 39 is thereby a simple but effective means of accurately and rigidly mounting the pusher members i.e. by this means, the mounting of the pusher members is not effected by any deflection of the piston of the piston and cylinder unit 41 that might take place if the pusher members were supported by a member carried solely by the piston of that unit.The pusher members are in the form of substantially flat fingers or plates which conveniently seat on the upper top edge of the block 39 and thus readily lend themselves to be fixed to the block e.g. by means of screws.

The longitudinal neck aligner comprises, for each nozzle, a pair of spaced-apart neck guides AB constituted by rigid strips or plates.

The plates are so shaped that, in each pair, at the end thereof nearest the pusher mechanism, the ends of the plates are turned outwardly so that the plates at that end present a clearance between them which is greater than the external diameter of the neck of a container as is clearly evident from Fig. 2 whereas, at the filling station, the neck guides provide a clearance between them which is substantially equal to the external diameter of the neck of the container.

As will be evident from the above, the nozzles of the filling arrangement lie in a single vertical plane, namely, the filling plane and, in operation of the illustrated embodiment, the pusher members travel a fixed distance between the position shown in Fig. 1 and the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the neck of a container being pushed by a pusher member is located coaxially with the axis of a respective nozzle. The containers on the input conveyor are translated therealong with the trailing face of one container in contact with the leading face of the next following container.As a result, when the line of containers on the conveyor reach the end thereof at the dead ' plate of the illustrated embodiment, they are pushed onto the dead plate and therealong in a direction parallel with the member 39 until the leading one of the containers by its leading face makes contact with a limit switch 51 mounted on a switch plate 53 stationed at a distance from the respective end of the input conveyor so that by the time the switch is operated by the leading one of the containers delivered onto the dead plate, four containers have been delivered off the conveyor.The input device comprises a guide plate 55 located on conveyor IP, by which the facing sides of the containers are brought to lie in one vertical plane whereby, when four of the containers are delivered onto the dead plate as described above, those four containers have their sides facing the member 39 in a vertical plane parallel with the filling planes. Further, the conveyor is so located that when the containers are delivered onto the dead plate, the sides to face the member 39 do not make contact with that member and the necks of the containers do not make contact with any of the pusher members. This is to permit the containers to be delivered into position on the dead plate regardless of variations in the diameters arid positioning of the necks of the containers.

Operation of the limit switch 51 causes actuation of the piston and cylinder unit 41 of the pusher mechanism and the pusher members are advanced to come into contact with the necks of the containers. Since due to dimensional inaccuracies in formation of the containers, the axes of the necks thereof may not lie in alignment in a direction normal to the line of movement of the pusher members, it is possible that the pusher members engage the necks of the respective containers successively. However, since the pusher members travel a fixed distance, the necks of the containers are nevertheless delivered to the filling station with the axes of their necks in alignment in that plane. On reaching this extremity of the fixed distance they have to move, the pusher members are then withdrawn by reversal of the stroke of the piston and cylinder unit 41. During the reciprocation of the pusher members, the end edge of the member 39 nearest the conveyor IP prevents entry of any further containers onto the dead plate until the pusher members have been drawn back to the other extremity of the fixed distance whereupon another four containers are admitted to the dead plate. The reciprocation is then repeated so that the containers currently being advanced by the pusher members push containers already filled in a previous operation of the pusher members, away from the filling station onto the output conveyor. As the containers are advanced by the pusher members, the neck of each container comes into contact with a respective neck guide of the longitudinal neck aligner so that when the containers reach the filling station, the axes of the necks of the containers lie coaxial with the respective axes of the nozzle.

It will be understood that the need for a neck aligner NA arises from the fact that, due to the above-mentioned dimensional inaccuracies of the containers, the necks thereof may not be equally spaced apart at the pre-filling station and therefore, solely on this ground, require adjustment of the lateral position of a neck i.e. in the direction transverse to the direction of the movement of the pusher members. It follows from this that the pusher members may engage the necks of the containers at different points along leading edges of the pusher members and that the pusher members at their leading edges must be wide enough to accomodate these inaccuracics of the neck position and must also be such as readily to allow lateral shifting of the container necks to take place. The illustrated pusher fingers satisfy these requirements.It also follows from the above, that the neck guides of the neck aligner are set apart by slightly more than the width of a container in order to permit lateral adjustment of the necks needed for the purpose of neck alignment and that, as a result, even assuming no misalignment of the container necks, the neck guides will laterally shift them by some amount. The lateral shifting of a container neck does not necessarily imply that the entire container is shifted since the containers are usually sufficiently flexible to permit the slight deflection of the neck required by the neck aligner.

When a set of containers is delivered to the filling station, the limit switch 51 is exposed again and this provides a signal for actuation of the piston and cylinder unit 23 to lower the nozzles to the lower filling position. Discharge through the nozzles takes place for a fixed period of time after which the nozzles are automatically raised.

The illustrated embodiment, as will be evident from the above, permits the product line to be divided into four and also permits the use of the maximum diameter of nozzle. Thus, in relation to a filling line filling one container at a time and using a narrow-diameter nozzle, it is capable of increasing the production rate by appreciably more than four fold. Thus, the illustrated embodiment provides a simple, but efficacious. apparatus.

Claims (8)

1. A filling apparatus for necked containers, comprising (1) a filling arrangement disposed at a filling station and comprising a plurality of filler nozzles disposed in a vertical plane (hereinafter called the "filling plane"); (2) means for stationing at a pre-filling station a plurality of containers of like-orientation, with corresponding side parts positioned substantially in one vertical plane parallel to the filling plane; the number of containers in said plurality of containers equalling the number of nozzles in said plurality of nozzles; and (3) a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of reciprocable pusher members; one for each of said plurality of containers, each to push a respective container by acting against the exterior surface of its neck, and means for reciprocating said members in a direction normal to the filling plane simultaneously and in synchronism through a fixed distance between a location at the side of the pre-filling station remote from the filling station and the filling station; and (4) a longitudinal neck aligner comprising. for each nozzle, means for displacing a container neck in either direction transversely of the direction of reciprocation of the pusher members so as to bring the axis of the container neck into alignment in the direction of reciprocation of said pusher members with the respective nozzle axis.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating means comprises a piston and cylinder unit for effecting reciprocation of the pusher members.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said piston and cylinder unit is a pneumatically operated one.

4. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pusher members take the form of flat fingers.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, as dependent on claim 2 or 3, wherein the fingers are supported on a support block secured to the piston and cylinder unit.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any of preceding claims 1 to 5, wherein the longitudinal neck aligner comprises, for each nozzle, a pair of spaced-apart neck guides arranged parallel with the direction of reciprocation of the pusher members, with the neck guides of the pair providing a distance between them at the end thereof nearest the pre-filling station wider than the external diameter of the neck of a container to be filled and providing at the location of the nozzle a spacing substantially equal to that external diameter so that when the neck of the container arrives at the filling station, the axis of the neck lies coaxial with the axis of the nozzle.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the neck guides are constituted by flat plates or strips with each pair being turned outwardly at the end thereof nearest the prefilling station in order to provide the spacing therebetween greater than the external diameter of the neck of a container.

8. Apparatus for filling necked containers substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.