JP2014218275A - Filling valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filling valve which can be used for both containers 2 (2A, 2B) having different height.SOLUTION: A gas-containing beverage is injected into a container 2 conveyed while an undersurface of a flange 2b is supported by a neck gripper 4, in a state where the inside of the container 2 is sealed by lowering a bottle mouth packing 6 to press-contact it to a mouth part 2c. Stroke changing means (a switching piston 62) changing an elevating stroke is provided in an air cylinder 56 elevating the bottle mouth packing 6 to change the height to which the bottle mouth packing 6 is lowered, according to the height of the container 2.

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling valve provided in a filling device, and more particularly to a filling valve that fills a carbon dioxide beverage or a non-gas beverage with the mouth of a container sealed with a sealing member such as packing.

  When filling a gas-containing liquid such as carbon dioxide with a filling device, it is necessary to raise and lower the seal member and the container relative to each other and to fill the container with the mouth of the container sealed by the seal member. is there. A filling apparatus that performs filling by sealing the inside of the container is already known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the filling valve described in Patent Document 1, the filling liquid passage formed inside the valve housing is opened and closed by the liquid valve, and the port packing unit disposed so as to be movable up and down below the valve housing includes an air cylinder. When the container is supplied to the neck gripper, the bottle mouth packing unit is lowered, the bottle mouth packing is pressed against the mouth of the container, and the inside of the container is sealed. The valve is opened to fill the beverage containing gas.

JP 2008-105699 A

  As a container filled with liquid by the filling valve, in recent years, PET bottles having a lower stopper portion compared to conventional standards have been introduced to the market for the purpose of reducing environmental burden and reducing costs. Yes. Conventional standard PET bottles are also available on the market. FIG. 3A shows a conventional standard PET bottle having a large stopper portion height, that is, a distance from the lower surface of the flange 2b of the container 2 to the upper end mouth portion 2c (this container is denoted by reference numeral 2A). 3 (b) shows a new standard PET bottle with a small distance from the lower surface of the flange 2b of the container 2 to the upper end mouth 2c (the container is denoted by reference numeral). 2B). Thus, in order to fill two types of containers 2A and 2B having different standards with a single filling device, the up-and-down stroke of the sealing member (bottle opening packing) to be brought into close contact with the mouth 2c of the container 2 is changed to the mouth 2c. It is necessary to use the container 2B having a low height as a reference. Then, in the container 2A having a high mouth portion 2c that has been conventionally used, the packing load on the mouth portion 2c is increased, and the life of the packing is shortened. Therefore, the frequency of maintenance increases, and the labor and cost increase. Further, an excessive load is applied to the container 2A, and particularly when the container 2A is supported at the bottom, there is a problem that the container 2A may be deformed, which is not preferable.

  The present invention includes a valve housing in which a filling liquid passage communicating with a filling liquid supply pipe is formed, a discharge port provided at a lower end, a liquid valve for opening and closing the filling liquid passage, and opening and closing of the liquid valve. In a filling valve comprising: a means, a sealing means disposed below the valve housing and sealing a mouth of a container held by the container holding means; and a seal raising / lowering means for raising and lowering the sealing means. The changing means for changing the raising / lowering stroke by the means is provided, and the raising / lowering stroke of the sealing means is changed according to the shape of the container.

  The second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the container holding means holds the neck of the container.

  Furthermore, a third invention is characterized in that, in the first invention or the second invention, the changing means is a multi-stage stroke cylinder.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, an elastic member is provided for connecting between the periphery of the discharge port of the valve housing and the lower sealing means. Is.

  Since the filling valve of the present invention can change the lifting / lowering stroke of the sealing means according to the shape of the container, the operation of the apparatus can be performed without increasing the labor for exchanging attachments and maintenance. In the fourth invention, the opening portion of the valve and the sealing means are connected by an elastic member, and the sliding portion between the sealing means and the valve housing is eliminated. Risk can be eliminated.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a filling valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a case where a container having a high mouth portion is filled. Example 1 FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same filling valve as in FIG. 1 and shows a case where a container having a low mouth portion is filled. FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams comparing a container having a high mouth portion and a container having a low mouth portion.

  A filling liquid passage is formed inside the valve housing, and the filling liquid is supplied and stopped by opening and closing the liquid valve. A neck gripper is disposed below the valve housing, and conveys the container below the flange of the container supplied from the outside. A bottle packing is disposed between the valve housing and the neck gripper so that the container can be moved up and down.The container is supplied to the neck gripper in a raised state, and then the container is lowered and brought into close contact with the mouth of the container. Seal. In this state, the liquid valve is opened to fill the container with the filling liquid sent from the filling liquid tank via the liquid supply pipe.

  The packing lift air cylinder that lifts and lowers the port packing includes a small-diameter seal lifting piston connected to the packing holder with the bottle packing via a lifting rod, and a large-diameter switching piston located below the piston. Is provided so that the lift amount of the seal lifting piston can be changed depending on the position of the switching piston. In the case of a container where the distance from the lower surface of the flange to the upper end of the mouth is small, the seal elevating piston is moved down most together with the switching piston, and in the case of a container where the distance from the lower surface of the flange to the upper end of the mouth is large The piston is raised and the seal lifting piston is stopped at the intermediate position.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. The filling valve according to this embodiment is provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the rotary body of the rotary filling device, and FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show one of the filling valves. The container 2 filled with liquid in this embodiment is a PET bottle, and is supported by an air conveyance conveyor (not shown) while being supported on the lower surface side of the flange 2b formed on the neck 2a, and an infeed screw (not shown). After being separated by a predetermined interval, the rotary filling device is supplied. The container 2 supplied to the rotary filling device is rotated and conveyed while the lower surface side of the flange 2b is held by the container holding means (neck gripper 4). While the container 2 is held by the neck gripper 4 and rotated and conveyed, the container 2 is filled with a liquid such as a carbon dioxide beverage with the mouth portion 2c sealed with a sealing means (bottle mouth packing 6).

  The filling valve of this embodiment includes a valve housing 10 in which a filling liquid passage 8 is formed. A filling liquid sent from a filling liquid tank (not shown) via a supply pipe 12 is filled with the filling liquid passage 8. The container 2 is filled through. The neck gripper 4 is disposed below each valve housing 8.

  A liquid valve 14 that opens and closes the outlet (discharge port 8 a) of the filling liquid passage 8 is provided in the valve housing 10. The liquid valve 14 includes a valve body 18 formed at the lower end of a rod 16 that is inserted into the filling liquid passage 8 so as to be movable up and down, and a valve seat 20 provided on the inner surface of the lower end portion of the filling liquid passage 8. It is constituted by. The rod 16 on which the valve body 18 is formed is moved up and down by a liquid valve opening / closing air cylinder 22 provided at the upper part of the valve housing 10.

  A piston (liquid valve opening / closing piston 24) is connected to the upper end of the rod 16, and is slidably fitted into a cylinder chamber 25 formed in the upper part of the valve housing 10, and the inside of the cylinder chamber 25 is subjected to vertical pressure. It is divided into chambers 26 and 28. The pressure chambers 26, 28 formed above and below the liquid valve opening / closing piston 24 are connected to an air supply source 34 via air passages 30, 32, respectively, and pressure air is introduced into the pressure chambers 26, 28. In addition, it can be opened to the atmosphere. When pressure air is introduced into the pressure chamber 26 above the liquid valve opening / closing piston 24 and the lower pressure chamber 28 is opened, the rod 16 moves down together with the liquid valve opening / closing piston 24, and the valve body 18 at the lower end of the rod body 18 moves to the valve seat. The discharge port 8 a of the filling liquid passage 8 is closed by being seated on 20. Further, when pressure air is introduced into the pressure chamber 28 below the liquid valve opening / closing piston 24 and the upper pressure chamber 26 is opened, the rod 16 rises and the valve body 18 moves away from the valve seat 20 to fill the filling liquid passage 8. Is opened to fill the liquid.

  A flow meter 36 is provided in the filling liquid supply pipe (feeding pipe 12) for supplying the filling liquid from the filling liquid tank to the filling liquid passage 8 in the valve housing 10, and the passage of a predetermined amount of the filling liquid is measured. A signal is sent to a control device (not shown), and the liquid valve open / close air cylinder 22 is operated by a command from the control device to lower the liquid valve open / close piston 24, the rod 16 and the valve body 18. Close to finish filling.

  A gas supply / discharge passage 38 that opens to the lower end surface of the valve housing 10 is provided outside the filling liquid passage 8 inside the valve housing 10. The gas supply / exhaust passage 38 is connected to a gas supply pipe 42 via an air supply opening / closing valve 40, and the air supply opening / closing valve 40 is closed in a state where the mouth portion 2 c of the container 2 is sealed by the bottle opening packing 6. By opening, carbon dioxide gas can be supplied into the container 2. The gas supply / discharge passage 38 is connected to the gas exhaust passage 46 via the exhaust on-off valve 44, and the exhaust on-off valve 44 is opened to discharge and collect carbon dioxide from the container 2. Can do. The air supply opening / closing valve 40 and the exhaust opening / closing valve 44 normally urge the valve bodies 40a, 44a by the springs 40b, 44b so as to open them, and air is supplied through the air passages 48, 50, respectively. It is closed by introducing pressure air from the supply source 34.

  Sealing means (bottle opening packing 6) for sealing the inside of the container 2 in close contact with the opening 2c of the container 2 is disposed below the lower end of the valve housing 10. The bottle packing 6 is attached to a packing holder 54 connected to the lower ends of a plurality of lifting rods 52, and is raised and lowered by the operation of a seal lifting air cylinder 56 disposed above the valve housing 10. The packing holder 54 is formed with a circular hole 54a having a diameter larger than that of the discharge port 8a of the filling liquid passage 8 at the center, and the bottle packing 6 is attached around the lower surface side of the circular hole 54a. . The bottle opening packing 6 has a size capable of sealing the inside of the container 2 in close contact with the mouth portion 2 c of the container 2.

  The air cylinder 56 for raising and lowering the seal is fixed above the valve housing 10 via a plurality of support columns 57. A cylinder chamber 60 having a large diameter at the bottom and a small diameter at the top is formed in the cylinder housing 58 of the air cylinder 56 for raising and lowering the seal. A large-diameter switching piston 62 is slidably fitted in a large-diameter portion at the bottom of the cylinder chamber 60, and a small-diameter seal elevating piston 64 is slidably fitted in a small-diameter portion at the top. The small-diameter seal elevating piston 64 has a piston rod 64a extending downward, and this piston rod 64a passes through a circular hole 62a formed in the central portion of the switching piston 62 while maintaining airtightness. . The cylinder chamber 60 is divided into an upper pressure chamber 66, an intermediate pressure chamber 68, and a lower pressure chamber 70 by these two pistons 62 and 64. These upper, middle, and lower three pressure chambers 66, 68, and 70 are connected to the air supply source 34 through air passages 72, 74, and 76, respectively, and pressure air is supplied into the pressure chambers 66, 68, and 70, respectively. It can be introduced and opened to the atmosphere.

  By supplying and discharging pressure air into and from these three pressure chambers 66, 68 and 70, the seal elevating piston 64 can be stopped at the three positions of the raised position, the intermediate position and the lowered position. When pressure air is supplied to the upper pressure chamber 66 and the intermediate pressure chamber 68 and the lower pressure chamber 70 are opened to the atmosphere, the seal elevating piston 64 pushes down the switching piston 62 and moves down to the lowest position (see FIG. 2). State shown). Further, when pressure air is supplied to the upper pressure chamber 66 and the lower pressure chamber 70 and the intermediate pressure chamber 68 is opened, the switching piston 62 rises to a step between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion of the cylinder chamber 60. The seal elevating piston 64 stops at a position where it comes into contact with the upper surface of the rising switching piston 62 due to the pressure receiving area difference between the switching piston 62 and the seal elevating piston 64 (intermediate position shown in FIG. 1). When the upper pressure chamber 66 is opened and pressure air is introduced into the intermediate pressure chamber 68, the seal elevating piston 64 moves up to the highest position.

  The piston rod 64 a of the seal elevating piston 64 extends downward through the lower surface of the cylinder housing 58, and the elevating rod 52 is connected to a lower end portion thereof via a horizontal attachment plate 78. Accordingly, as the seal lifting piston 64 is moved up and down, the lifting rod 52 is lifted and the packing holder 54 connected to the lower end thereof is lifted and lowered. At the time when the container 2 is supplied to the neck gripper 4, the seal elevating piston 64 is raised most so that the container 2 does not interfere with the bottle packing 6. In this embodiment, the container 2 is also used as two types of containers 2 (2A, 2B) having different lengths from the lower surface side of the flange 2b formed on the container 2 to the upper end mouth 2c, When the elevating piston 64 is lowered most, the bottle packing 6 comes into close contact with the mouth 2c of the container 2 (2B) having a short distance from the flange 2b to the mouth 2c, and the seal elevating piston 64 is lowered to the intermediate position. In addition, the bottle packing 6 is closely attached to the mouth 2c of the container 2 (2A) having a long distance from the flange 2b to the mouth 2c.

  The upper end of a cylindrical elastic member (bellows 80) is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the discharge port 8a of the filling liquid passage 8 that opens to the lower end surface of the valve housing 10 and the lower opening of the gas supply / discharge passage 38. Further, the lower end side of the bellows 80 is fixed along the periphery of the circular hole 54 a on the upper surface of the packing holder 54. When the packing holder 54 is lowered to bring the bottle packing 6 into close contact with the mouth of the container 2, the bellows 80 keeps the inside of the container 2 and the space inside the bellows 80 airtight. .

  The operation of the filling valve according to the above configuration will be described. A container 2 that is transported by an air transport conveyor and separated at a predetermined interval by an infeed screw is supplied to a rotary filling device including the filling valve. The container 2 supplied to the rotary filling apparatus is rotated and conveyed while the lower surface side of the flange 2b is held by the neck gripper 4. When the container 2 is supplied to the neck gripper 4, pressure air is introduced into the intermediate pressure chamber 68 of the seal lifting air cylinder 56 and the upper pressure chamber 66 is opened to the atmosphere. Then, the seal raising / lowering piston 64 rises to the uppermost position and hits the top surface of the cylinder chamber 60 and stops. By raising the seal raising / lowering piston 64, the bottle opening packing 6 attached to the packing holder 54 rises to a height that does not interfere with the container 2 to be supplied.

  While the supplied container 2 is held by the neck gripper 4 and rotated and conveyed, the packing holder 54 is lowered by the operation of the air cylinder 56 for raising and lowering the seal, and the bottle packing 6 is brought into close contact with the mouth 2c of the container 2. . At this time, on / off of the switching piston 62 is controlled by a command from a control means (not shown), and the elevation of the seal raising / lowering piston 64 is controlled in accordance with the height of the container 2.

  When filling the container 2 (2A) having a large distance from the lower surface side of the flange 2b to the mouth portion 2c, pressure air is introduced into the lower pressure chamber 70 and the upper pressure chamber 66 of the seal lifting air cylinder 56. Then, the inside of the intermediate pressure chamber 68 is opened to the atmosphere. Then, the large-diameter switching piston 62 rises and stops by hitting a step portion between the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion in the cylinder portion 60, and the small-diameter seal elevating piston 64 descends and hits the upper surface of the switching piston 62. Stop. In this state, the bottle packing 6 is in close contact with the mouth 2c of the container 2A.

  When the bottle packing 6 is brought into close contact with the mouth 2c of the container 2 (2A) and the inside of the container 2A is sealed, the air supply on / off valve 40 is opened while the exhaust on / off valve 44 is closed. When the air supply opening / closing valve 40 is opened, carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the gas supply pipe 42 into the container 2 </ b> A through the air supply opening / closing valve 40 and the gas supply / discharge passage 38 in the valve housing 10.

  After a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the supply of carbon dioxide gas, pressure air is supplied to the lower pressure chamber 28 of the liquid valve opening / closing air cylinder 22 and the upper pressure chamber 26 is opened to the atmosphere to 14 is released. When the liquid valve 14 is opened, the filling liquid is sent from the filling liquid tank (not shown) through the liquid supply pipe 12 into the filling liquid passage 8 and filled into the container 2A. The liquid filled into the container 2A through the liquid supply pipe 12 is measured by the flow meter 36, and when a predetermined amount is filled, the liquid valve opening / closing air cylinder 22 is switched by the command of the control means. The valve opening / closing piston 24 and the rod 16 are lowered, and the liquid valve 14 is closed to complete the filling. After the completion of filling, the air supply on / off valve 40 is closed and the exhaust on / off valve 44 is opened to discharge and collect the gas in the container 2A through the gas exhaust passage 46.

  After the filling is completed, the pressure air is supplied to the intermediate pressure chamber 68 of the seal lifting air cylinder 56, the upper pressure chamber 66 is opened to the atmosphere, and the packing holder 54 is lifted together with the seal lifting piston 64, thereby the bottle. The mouth packing 6 is separated from the mouth 2c of the container 2A, and the container 2A is discharged from the filling device and sent to the next step.

  When filling the container 2 (2B) having a small distance from the lower surface of the flange 2b to the mouth portion 2c, pressure air is introduced into the pressure chamber 66 above the seal lifting air cylinder 56 and the intermediate pressure is increased. The chamber 68 and the lower pressure chamber 70 are opened to the atmosphere. The seal raising / lowering piston 64 pushes down the switching piston 62 and descends to the lowest position (state shown in FIG. 2). When the seal raising / lowering piston 64 is lowered to this position, the bottle opening packing 6 attached to the packing holder 54 is pressed against the opening 2c of the container 2B to seal the inside of the container 2B. The subsequent filling step is performed in the same manner as the container (the container 2A having a long distance from the flange to the upper end of the mouth shown in FIG. 1).

  In the filling valve according to this embodiment, the height from the lower surface side of the flange 2b to the mouth portion 2c is higher than that of the container 2A in which the height from the lower surface side of the flange 2b supported by the neck gripper 4 to the mouth portion 2c is high. In the case of the container 2B having a low height, the lowering amount of the bottle packing 6 is increased by the difference in height, so that the load applied to the container 2 (2A, 2B) is almost the same, and the bottle packing 6 Since the life of the bottle opening packing 6 is not shortened, the maintenance frequency is not increased, and the container 2 is not deformed. Therefore, the duality with respect to the containers 2 (2A, 2B) having different heights is excellent.

  In this embodiment, the filling valve that can be used for two kinds of containers 2 (2A, 2B) has been described. However, a plurality of switching pistons 62 provided for changing the lifting / lowering stroke of the bottle opening packing 6 are provided. By arranging it, it is possible to change the stroke in multiple stages, and it is also possible to use it for three or more types of containers. In this embodiment, carbon dioxide gas is supplied, but other pressurized gas may be supplied. Moreover, the filling apparatus provided with this filling valve can be used not only for filling gas-containing beverages but also for filling non-gas beverages. Further, in this embodiment, the neck of the container is held, and the lifting / lowering stroke of the sealing means can be changed according to the height of the neck of the container. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bottom of the container is Supporting with a table, changing the lifting stroke of the sealing means according to the total height of the container, holding a predetermined part of the container, and increasing the lifting stroke of the sealing means according to the height of the container body or other parts It may be changed.

2 Container 4 Container holding means (neck gripper)
6 Sealing means (bottle opening packing)
8 Filling liquid passage 8a Discharge port 10 Valve housing 12 Filling liquid supply pipe (liquid supply pipe)
14 Liquid valve 22 Opening / closing means (Air cylinder for liquid valve opening / closing)
56 Seal lifting / lowering means (Air cylinder for lifting / lowering seal)
62 Changing means (switching piston)

Claims (4)

A filling liquid passage communicating with the filling liquid supply pipe is formed therein, a valve housing provided with a discharge port at a lower end, a liquid valve for opening and closing the filling liquid passage, an opening and closing means for the liquid valve, In a filling valve that is provided below the valve housing and includes sealing means for sealing the mouth of the container held by the container holding means, and seal lifting means for raising and lowering the sealing means.
A filling valve characterized in that a changing means for changing a lifting stroke by the seal lifting means is provided, and the lifting stroke of the sealing means is changed according to the shape of the container.   The filling valve according to claim 1, wherein the container holding means holds a neck of the container.   The filling valve according to claim 1, wherein the changing unit is a multi-stage stroke cylinder.   The filling valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an elastic member that connects a periphery of the discharge port of the valve housing and a lower sealing means.

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