JP2009057087A - Filling valve automatic cleaning device of rotary filling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filling valve automatic cleaning device which prevents the scattering of foreign matter toward an atmosphere in which a filling port is located when a cleaning cap is attached/detached to/from the filling valve so that a filling machine is used in a sanitary manner. <P>SOLUTION: The filling valve automatic cleaning device 10 includes a plurality of filling valves which are arranged at equal pitches on the horizontal circumference of a horizontal rotary member 3 driven to rotate and have filling ports 2 of filling valve bodies 1 that are fitted to the horizontal rotary member 3. Each filling valve is provided with a moving up/down and rotating/oscillating shaft 20 which can be moved up and down by a moving up/down driving means 42 and rotated and oscillated horizontally by a rotating/oscillating driving means 41, and with a cleaning cap 30 which is fitted to the shaft 20 and engages with the filling port 2 of the filling valve body 1 to cap the filling port 2 when the filling valve is cleaned. The cleaning device 10 also includes a cover 33 located on the side of a clean atmosphere, the cover 33 being set concentric with the moving up/down and rotating/oscillating shaft 20 and having one end fitted to the cleaning cap 30 and the other end fitted to the horizontal rotary member 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling valve automatic cleaning device of a rotary filling machine for filling beverages and the like.

  Conventionally, as a means for attaching a cleaning cap to a filling valve of a rotary filling machine and washing the filling valve, it has been a great effort to manually attach and remove the washing caps of a large number of filling valves after every filling operation. Therefore, various automatic cleaning devices have been proposed in which the cleaning cap can be automatically attached to and detached from the filling valve for cleaning. (See Patent Documents 1 and 2)

However, the automatic filling valve cleaning device shown in Patent Document 1 has the following drawbacks.
Each filling valve (1) (the symbol in the figure of Patent Document 1 is indicated by (). The same applies in the following paragraph) is attached to the bottom surface of the liquid storage tank (10) and has an outer cylinder (filling port) (3 ) Is located below the liquid storage tank (10). The cleaning cap (4) is also positioned below the liquid storage tank (10) via a cleaning cap support arm (29) attached to the bottom surface of the liquid storage tank (10). In addition, the air pipe (30) for the drive means for the horizontal movement of the cleaning cap (4) and the air pipe for the lift drive means for gas-liquid tight engagement with the filling valve (1) of the cleaning cap (4) ( 45) and (46) are located below the liquid storage tank (10) in the vicinity of the outer cylinder (filling port) (3).
In such a configuration, since the air cylinder (30) and the air pipes (45) and (46), which are driving means, are in the same atmosphere as the outer cylinder (filling port) (3), foreign matter scattered from the driving means. May be left floating in the atmosphere, and is not suitable for filling in a clean atmosphere of aseptic level.

Further, the filling nozzle cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the following drawbacks.
Each filling nozzle (valve) (41) (the symbol in the figure of Patent Document 2 is indicated by (). The same applies in the following paragraph) is located in the clean room (15) above the bed (11) and is washed. An adapter (74) corresponding to a cap is also located in the clean room (15). The adapter (74) is attached to a vertical pipe part (121) fitted in a stand (72) so as to be rotatable and movable up and down, and when filling the container (C), the vertical pipe part (121) is rotated. The state is avoided from the lower side of the filling nozzle (41), and when the filling nozzle is washed, the vertical pipe part (121) is connected to the downward discharge port (51) by the rotation / lifting operation of the vertical pipe part (121). ing. The rotary actuator (161) and the fluid pressure cylinder (165), which are driving means for rotating and raising / lowering the vertical pipe section (121), are positioned below the bed (11) and on the opposite side of the clean room (15). It has become.
However, in this configuration, the atmosphere of the filling nozzle (41) is different from that of the driving means for rotating / lifting the vertical pipe portion (121) with respect to the bed (11), but the container ( When the liquid is filled into C), the liquid may jump and adhere to the upper surface of the vertical pipe portion (121). In the state where the adhering liquid is not sufficiently washed, when the vertical pipe portion (121) is moved up and down, the liquid is brought into the stand (72), which leads to the propagation of microorganisms such as cocoons. There is a disadvantage of contaminating the clean room (15).
Japanese Patent No. 3649517 (FIG. 1) JP 2002-104585 A (FIGS. 1 and 2)

  The present invention has been proposed in view of such circumstances. The cleaning caps can be attached to and detached from all the filling valves at the same time, and the filling ports of the filling valves are located when the washing caps are attached to and detached from the filling valves. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic filling valve cleaning device in which a filling machine is used in a sanitary manner so that foreign matters are not scattered on the atmosphere side.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to solve the problem by the following means.
(1) The filling valve automatic cleaning device of the first means is arranged on the horizontal rotating member that is rotationally driven at an equal pitch on the horizontal circumference, so that the filling port of the filling valve body is on the clean atmosphere side of aseptic level. In a filling valve automatic cleaning device of a rotary filling machine having a plurality of filling valves attached to a horizontal rotating member at
Along with each filling valve, it can be moved up and down by an elevating drive means located on the opposite side to a clean atmosphere of a sterile level with respect to a horizontal rotating member, and horizontally by a rotating and swinging drive means. An automatic filling valve cleaning device comprising a lifting / rotating drive shaft capable of rotating and swinging, and a cleaning cap attached to the shaft and closed and engaged with a filling port of a filling valve main body at the time of cleaning the filling valve. Concentric with the oscillating shaft, one end is attached to the cleaning cap and the other end is attached to the clean atmosphere side of the horizontal rotating member. It is characterized by having a cover-like cover that can absorb and maintain a clean atmosphere even when moving up and down and rotating.

(2) The filling valve automatic cleaning device of the second means is characterized in that, in the filling valve automatic cleaning device of (1), the material of the cover-like covering is a fiber-reinforced soft rubber having a smooth surface. .

(3) The filling valve automatic cleaning device of the third means is the raising / lowering means of the rotating / swinging shaft when the filling valve of the filling valve and the cleaning cap are closed and engaged in the automatic cleaning of the filling valve of (1). The gas / liquid supply pressure and the gas / liquid supply pressure of the rotation / swing means can be adjusted by each filling valve automatic cleaning device, and each filling valve automatic cleaning device is provided with a positioning stopper to adjust the position of rotation / oscillation respectively. It is possible to make it possible.

  The invention according to claim 1 is the automatic filling valve cleaning device of the first means, wherein the cleaning cap can be moved up and down by the raising and lowering driving means corresponding to each filling valve, and the drive for rotation and swinging It is attached to a lifting / rotating rocking shaft that can be swung horizontally by means, and is closed and engaged with the filling port of the filling valve body during automatic filling valve washing, so that all the filling valves can be washed all at once. Cleaning operation is efficient, concentric with the lifting / rotating oscillating shaft, one end is attached to a cleaning cap, and the other end is attached to a horizontal rotating member. A cover-like cover that absorbs expansion / contraction and torsion during up / down / rotation swinging is attached, so that the filling valve can be cleaned automatically while maintaining a clean atmosphere of aseptic level, and it is hygienic. is there.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a filling valve automatic cleaning device of the second means, the cover-like covering material is a fiber reinforced soft rubber, and is strong against expansion and contraction, and Since the surface is smooth, foreign matter and the like are difficult to adhere and it is hygienic.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a filling valve automatic cleaning device according to the third means, wherein the gas / liquid supply pressure of the lifting / lowering means of the lifting / lowering oscillating shaft at the closing engagement between the filling port of the filling valve and the cleaning cap. The gas / liquid supply pressure of the rotary swinging means can be adjusted by each filling valve automatic cleaning device, and a positioning stopper is provided in each filling valve automatic cleaning device so that the positioning of the rotary swinging can be adjusted respectively. The closing engagement between the filling port of the filling valve and the washing cap is performed reliably, and gas liquid does not leak from the closing engagement portion during washing, so that the washing can be performed hygienically.

  This embodiment is applied to a no-pressure (atmospheric pressure) -filled rotary bottle filling machine used in a clean atmosphere of aseptic level, and will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a filling valve and an automatic cleaning device of a rotary bottle filling machine, and shows a state in which a cleaning packing of the automatic cleaning device is closed and engaged with a filling port of the filling valve. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 1, showing only one place of the filling valve and the automatic cleaning device, and the others are omitted.

  As shown in the figure, a filling valve body 1 is attached to the horizontal rotating member 3 at an equal pitch on the horizontal circumference, and the filling valve automatic cleaning device 10 is in a horizontal radial direction with respect to the rotation center of the filling machine. Is attached to the inside of the filling valve body 1.

  The filling valve main body 1 has a filling liquid supply port 4 at the inlet, a filling port 2 at the outlet, and a cleaning liquid discharge port 5 after washing the filling valve at the center. The filling port 2 is provided on the clean atmosphere side at an aseptic level.

The filling valve automatic cleaning device 10 is configured as follows.
The cleaning cap 30 is provided with a seal packing 31 that can be closed and engaged with the filling port 2 when the filling valve main body 1 is cleaned, and is attached to the lift / rotation swing shaft 20 with a fastening bolt 32.

  The elevating / rotating oscillating shaft 20 is supported to rotate and oscillate by two rotary bearings 22 on the inner diameter side of the inner cylinder 21. The bearing 22 is fixed to the elevating / rotating oscillating shaft 20 by a stepped portion 27 of the elevating / rotating oscillating shaft 20 and a bearing holder 23.

  The inner cylinder 21 can be moved up and down via elevating and sliding bearings 25 provided at two locations on the inner diameter side of the outer cylinder 24 fixed to the horizontal rotating member 3 by fastening bolts 26.

  The mounting base 40 fixed to the horizontal rotating member 3 is attached with a lifting drive means 42 (for example, a fluid pressure cylinder) and a rotation swing driving means 41 (for example, a rotary actuator) of the lifting / rotating swing shaft 20. The drive shaft of the elevating drive means 42 and the drive shaft of the rotary swinging drive means 41 are integrated into a shaft 43. The rotating / swinging drive means 41 is adapted to transmit up / down and rotating / swinging by a spline (not shown) with the shaft 43. The shaft 43 is fixed to the upper coupling 44, and is fastened to the upper part of the elevating / rotating oscillating shaft 20 via a fixed lower coupling 45 and an intermediate seat 46.

  The rotational swing driving means 41 rotates and swings the shaft 43 in the clockwise direction when viewed from below by supplying pressurized air from a pressurized air switching valve (not shown) through the pressurized air piping 471. By supplying pressurized air through the pressurized air piping 472, the shaft 43 is rotated and swung counterclockwise. The pressurized air supply pressure is appropriately adjusted by an adjustment valve (not shown).

  The elevating drive means 42 pushes down the shaft 43 by supplying pressurized air through a pressurized air pipe 481 from a switching valve (not shown), and supplies pressurized air through the pressurized air pipe 482. Thus, the shaft 43 is pushed upward. The pressurized air supply pressure is appropriately adjusted by an adjustment valve (not shown).

  In the space between the horizontal rotating member 3 and the cleaning cap 30, a cover-like cover 33 is formed concentrically around the lifting / rotating oscillating shaft 20, and a cover 37 is provided together with a cover holding member 35 for the horizontal rotating member 3. The cleaning cap 30 is attached to the cleaning cap 30 by the fastening bolt 38 through the spacer 36 together with the cover holding member 34.

  A lift / rotation positioning lever 50 of the lift / rotation swing shaft 20 is attached to the lift / rotation swing shaft 20 above the inner cylinder 21.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a positioning pin 51 for clockwise rotation is attached to the lever 50 with a screw, and is fixed by a position adjusting nut 52. The positioning pin 511 is attached with a screw and is fixed by a position adjusting nut 521.

A stopper 53 of the positioning pin 51 and a stopper 531 of the positioning pin 511 are fixed to the outer cylinder 24.
The filling valve automatic cleaning device of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration is used as follows.

  First, at the time of filling the product liquid, the cleaning cap 30 is retracted to the position D2 in FIG. 3 by bringing the positioning pin 511 into contact with the stopper 531 by the operation of the rotation / swing drive means 41, and the container C is moved by a mechanism (not shown). Is brought directly under the filling port 2 of the filling valve body 1, and filling of the product liquid into the container C is started by a filling control means (not shown). The container C that has been filled with the predetermined amount is separated from the filling valve body 1 by a mechanism (not shown) and carried out to the next process. When the filling of the predetermined number of containers C is completed, the cleaning process for the filling liquid circuit such as the filling valve body 1 and the filling liquid supply pipe is started.

  During the cleaning process, the cleaning cap 30 evacuated to the position of D2 is rotated from D2 to D1 by the operation of the rotation / oscillation drive means 41 via the up / down / rotation oscillation shaft 20 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning pin 51 comes into contact with the stopper 53 to be positioned and stops. Next, the lifting / lowering swinging shaft 20 is lifted by the operation of the lifting / lowering driving means 42, and the seal packing 31 is closed and engaged with the filling port 2 of the filling valve main body 1. As the cleaning cap 30 is raised, the cover-like cover 33 is loosened as shown in FIG.

  After the seal packing 31 is closed and engaged with the filling port 2, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the filling tank (not shown) to the filling port 2 via the filling liquid supply port 4 according to a command from a control device (not shown). Is pushed out to the cleaning liquid discharge port 5 through a path (not shown).

  When the cleaning process is completed, the cleaning cap 30 is lowered through the lifting / rotating oscillating shaft 20 by the operation of the lifting drive means 42, and the seal packing 31 is separated from the filling port 2 of the filling valve body 1. As the cleaning cap 30 is lowered, the cover-like cover 33 changes from a loose state to a state somewhat close to a tension. Next, the rotation / swing drive means 41 is operated to swing from D1 to D2 as shown in FIG. 3 via the lift / rotation swing shaft 20, and the positioning pin 511 contacts the stopper 531 as shown in FIG. Positioned in contact and stopped.

  The positions where the positioning pins 51 and 511 come into contact with the stoppers 53 and 531 are rotated by rotating the positioning pins 51 and 511 and the position adjustment nuts 52 and 521 by the amount of the position adjustment, and the rotational swing driving means 41 and the lifting and lowering means. By appropriately adjusting the air supply pressure to the driving means 42, the closing engagement between the seal packing 31 of the cleaning cap 30 and the filling port 2 is adjusted to an appropriate position and state so that the cleaning liquid does not leak.

  The cover-like cover 33 needs to endure a harsh state in order to absorb expansion / contraction and torsion at the time of raising / lowering / rotating / oscillating the raising / lowering / rotating / oscillating shaft 20. For this reason, the material of the cover-like cover 33 is required to have a smooth surface that is flexible, has high strength, and is suitable for a clean atmosphere at an aseptic level. As a material that meets this requirement, a fiber reinforced soft rubber integrally formed with a reinforcing fiber is used.

It is side surface sectional drawing of the filling valve of the rotary type bottle filling machine concerning embodiment of this invention, and a filling valve automatic cleaning apparatus. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Filling valve body,
2 ... Filling port,
3 ... Horizontal rotating member,
10 ... Filling valve automatic cleaning device,
20: Elevating / rotating rocking shaft,
30 ... Cleaning cap,
31 ... Seal packing,
33 ... Cover-shaped cover,
41 ... Rotating and swinging drive means,
42. Lifting drive means,
51 ... locating pins,
52 ... Position adjusting nut,
53 ... Stopper,
511 ... locating pins,
521 ... Position adjustment nut,
531: Stopper

Claims (3)

A plurality of filling valves mounted on the horizontal rotating member are arranged on the horizontal rotating member that is rotationally driven at an equal pitch on the horizontal circumference, and the filling port of the filling valve main body has a clean atmosphere side at a sterile level. In a filling valve automatic cleaning device of a rotary filling machine having
Along with each filling valve, an elevating / rotating oscillating shaft that can be moved up and down by an elevating driving means and can be rotated and oscillated in a horizontal direction by a rotating and oscillating driving means, attached to the shaft and filled. This is a filling valve automatic washing device equipped with a washing cap that closes and engages the filling port of the filling valve body at the time of washing the valve. On the clean atmosphere side, it is concentric with the lifting / rotating oscillating shaft and one end is attached to the washing cap. The other end is attached to a horizontal rotating member to absorb expansion / contraction and twisting during lifting / rotation swinging of the lifting / rotating rocking shaft so that a clean atmosphere can be maintained even during lifting / rotating rocking. A filling valve automatic cleaning device for a rotary filling machine, characterized in that a cover-like cover is provided.   2. The automatic filling valve cleaning apparatus for a rotary filling machine according to claim 1, wherein the cover-like covering material is a fiber-reinforced soft rubber having a smooth surface.   2. The automatic filling valve cleaning apparatus of the rotary filling machine according to claim 1, wherein the gas liquid supply pressure of the lifting / lowering means of the raising / lowering / rotating oscillating shaft and the gas of the rotating / oscillating means are closed when the washing cap and the filling port of the filling valve are closed. A filling valve automatic cleaning device of a rotary filling machine in which the liquid supply pressure can be adjusted by each automatic filling valve cleaning device, and a positioning stopper is provided in each automatic filling valve cleaning device to adjust the position of rotational swing.

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