JP4102427B2 - Filling equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a filling apparatus suitable for filling a small volume of a chemical solution or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved technique for ensuring a more accurate filling amount and simplifying the cleaning operation of the filling pipeline system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to obtain an accurate supply amount in the filling technique, it is not necessary to accurately control the opening and closing of the flow path, and it goes without saying that a highly accurate flow rate adjustment is a prerequisite. In particular, in the case of pressure filling devices that pressurize chemicals and fill them into small-capacity containers such as ampoules, not only pressure adjustment and correction for pressure fluctuations, but also high-accuracy flow adjustment is more accurate quantification. The key to realization. As a conventional adjusting means for the flow rate, it is known to provide a fixed orifice or a throttle valve between a liquid supply tank such as a head tank or a pressurized tank and a downstream on-off valve. However, it is not always easy to stably secure an accurate flow rate simply by providing a fixed orifice or a general throttle valve. In addition, in the cleaning operation of the filling line system, which is necessary from the viewpoint of maintaining the original function of the device and hygiene, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid tends to be insufficient due to the resistance of the flow path based on the fixed orifice and throttle valve. This is the main cause of the decrease in action. Therefore, in order to compensate for this, countermeasures such as increasing the pressure of the entire pipeline system or providing a bypass have been required in the prior art.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technical circumstances, and has developed a flow control valve that can adjust the flow rate with high accuracy and is also effective for simplifying the cleaning operation in the flow path. The flow control valve is applied to the upstream side of the filling on-off valve to achieve accurate quantitative filling with the cooperation of the two and to improve the cleaning operation in the flow path. is there.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a filling apparatus for performing quantitative filling by opening and closing control of a filling on-off valve, a valve chamber having a filling liquid inlet and outlet, and a cylindrical shape formed at the outlet. And a valve body having a diameter reduced toward the tip, and inserting the valve shaft part into the tubular part to restrict the flow path, and connecting the valve body part with the valve body. The filling is performed by forming a flow rate adjusting valve having an adjusting means for adjusting a flow rate by advancing and retreating in the cylindrical portion, and an opening means for moving the adjusting means to extract the valve shaft portion from the cylindrical portion. In addition to being disposed on the upstream side of the open / close valve, the adjusting means is installed on a piston for opening operation provided in the opening means. As a result, the valve shaft portion whose diameter is reduced toward the tip portion is advanced and retracted in the cylindrical portion, so that fine adjustment with high accuracy is possible, and accurate flow rate adjustment is easily obtained. Therefore, accurate quantitative filling can be easily obtained by the cooperation of the combination of the high-precision flow rate adjustment by the flow rate adjustment valve and the filling on-off valve. Further, when the filling pipeline system is cleaned, the flow resistance can be eliminated by extracting the valve stem portion from the cylindrical portion by the opening means, so that the pressure of the entire supply pipeline system can be increased or bypassed as in the past. A good cleaning action can be easily obtained without the provision of. Moreover, in the present invention, the technical means of installing the adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate on the piston for opening operation provided in the opening means is adopted, so that the simple structure using the piston for opening operation has the above-described configuration. The flow rate adjustment at the time of filling with the valve shaft portion inserted into the cylindrical portion and the cleaning operation at the time of the opening operation in which the valve shaft portion is extracted from the cylindrical portion can be easily realized.
[0005]
In addition, the flow rate adjustment valve according to the present invention can be effectively applied to a pressure filling device that supplies the filling liquid to the filling on-off valve in a pressurized state, and can easily ensure accurate quantitative filling, As described above, a good cleaning action can be easily obtained. In this case, as a method of calculating the filling amount based on the pressure of the filling liquid to obtain a predetermined amount, for example, a function of the filling liquid pressure and filling time is set in advance, and the pressure and Based on the function of the filling time, it is possible to calculate the filling completion expected time that will be filled with a predetermined amount of filling liquid from the detected pressure value and execute the opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve for filling. is there. In addition, the function of the filling liquid pressure and filling amount is set in advance, the individual filling amount is calculated from the pressure value detected based on the pressure and filling amount function, and the individual filling amount is integrated to total the filling. A configuration in which the amount is calculated and the opening / closing control of the charging on / off valve is executed is also possible.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is extremely suitable for filling a small volume of a chemical solution or the like, but can also be effectively applied to a large volume. Moreover, it does not specifically limit regarding the kind of filling liquid which is a supply object. It should be noted that the flow rate adjusting valve may be installed at a location close to or away from the filling on-off valve as long as it is in the upstream flow path that can regulate the flow rate passing through the filling on-off valve. The filling on-off valve is not limited to its specific configuration, and an appropriate type can be adopted according to the application situation. In addition, the filling liquid supply method can be applied to both the filling method using the weight of the filling liquid itself and the pressure filling method. In particular, in the case of the small-capacity pressure filling method, the calculation is based on the expected filling end time calculated based on the function of the filling liquid pressure and filling time and the function of the filling liquid pressure and filling amount as described above. A control method for controlling the opening and closing of the filling on / off valve based on the total filling amount obtained by integrating the individual filling amounts is effective. Since the liquid temperature of the filling liquid also affects the viscosity and the like, it is extremely effective if it is configured to control the liquid temperature in consideration.
[0007]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of one embodiment according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a flow rate adjusting valve according to the present invention, and the upstream side is connected to a pipeline 4 connected to a supply header 3 connected to a supply tank (not shown) via a connection clamp 2 on the inflow side. . Further, the downstream side is connected to a pipe line 7 connected to the on-off valve 6 via a connection clamp 5 on the outflow side. A required number of filling pipes including the pipe 4, the flow rate adjusting valve 1, the pipe 7, the filling on / off valve 6, and the like are provided according to the scale of the apparatus. An appropriate on-off valve such as an electromagnetic drive type is used as the on-off valve 6 for filling, and is installed on a rotation support portion 9 that rotates in synchronization with the lower rotary table 8. A filling nozzle 10 is installed on the outflow side of each filling on-off valve 6, and is configured so that filling operations are sequentially performed on containers (not shown) on the rotary table 8 during the filling operation. FIG. 1 shows a cleaning state. As shown in the drawing, holders 11 are installed on the rotary table 8 so as to correspond to the respective filling nozzles 10, and cleaning is performed between the filling nozzles 10 and the holders 11. The cleaning operation can be performed by supporting the connecting member 12 and discharging the cleaning liquid to a collecting unit (not shown) via the cleaning liquid discharge hose 13.
[0008]
Next, a flow rate adjustment valve that is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the flow rate adjusting valve 1. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged main part during filling operation, and FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged principal part during cleaning operation. As shown in the figure, the flow rate adjusting valve 1 in this embodiment includes a first block 17 that forms a valve chamber 16 having an inlet 14 and an outlet 15, and adjusting means and opening means for a valve body 18 as will be described later. The second block 19 is built in. A valve shaft portion 20 having a diameter reduced toward the distal end portion is formed at the end portion of the valve body 18 and is inserted into a cylindrical portion 21 formed in the outlet 15 as shown in FIG. The flow rate can be adjusted via an outflow gap S formed between the valve stem portion 20 and the cylindrical portion 21. A flexible partition member 22 is attached around the valve body 18, and the partition chamber 22 defines the valve chamber 16.
[0009]
The valve body 18 is guided so as to be vertically slidable by a bearing portion 24 attached to a support member 23 installed at a joint portion between the first block 17 and the second block 19 and is attached upward by a spring 25. It is built in the state where it was put. In addition, a cylinder chamber 26 is formed inside the second block 19, and a piston 27 for opening operation is disposed so as to be slidable on the inner surface thereof so as to be movable up and down. The piston 27 is configured to be movable up and down. A micro head 30 is installed on a convex portion 29 formed at the center of the piston 27, and a knob of the micro head 30 is rotated by connecting an output shaft 31 of the micro head 30 to the valve body 18. Thus, the valve body 18 can be finely adjusted via an internal screw mechanism. That is, the microhead 30 constitutes adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate by moving the valve shaft portion 20 back and forth in the cylindrical portion 21. Further, the spring 25, the cylinder chamber 26, the piston 27, pressure air supply means, and the like constitute opening means for moving the adjusting means and extracting the valve shaft portion 20 from the cylindrical portion 21. In the figure, 32 and 33 are sealing members, and 34 is a vent hole.
[0010]
Thus, when performing the filling operation, if the pressure air is supplied through the supply hole 28, the piston 27 descends against the spring 25 by the pressure air, and is shown in FIGS. The filling operation state is maintained. In this filling operation state, an accurate supply amount is obtained by the cooperation of the flow rate adjusting valve 1 and the filling on-off valve 6 as described above. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the flow rate of the pipe line 7 connected to the filling on-off valve 6 is such that the valve shaft portion 20 is advanced and retracted in the cylindrical portion 21 via the microhead 30, and these valve shaft portions are By adjusting the outflow gap S formed between 20 and the cylindrical portion 21, fine adjustment can be performed easily and accurately. Accordingly, since the flow rate passing through the filling on-off valve 6 is accurately adjusted, the filling amount can be accurately obtained by accurately controlling only the valve opening time in the filling on-off valve 6.
[0011]
When performing the cleaning operation, if the supply of the pressure air from the supply hole 28 is stopped, the micro head 30 is moved up by the spring 25 via the valve body 18 and the output shaft 31, and accordingly. As a result, the piston 27 moves upward to shift to the cleaning operation state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the valve shaft portion 20 of the valve body 18 is extracted from the tubular portion 21, and the tubular portion 21 is released from the throttle action by the valve shaft portion 20. Accordingly, since the flow path resistance based on the valve shaft portion 20 is almost eliminated, the original cleaning action can be achieved without reducing the flow rate of the cleaning liquid.
[0012]
In the embodiment, when the pressure air is supplied or stopped from the supply hole 28, the valve shaft portion 20 of the valve body 18 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 21 or the valve shaft portion 20 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 21. The opening means for selectively setting the cleaning operation state extracted from the shape portion 21 is employed. However, instead of the spring 25, for example, the piston 27 is pressed downward into the cylinder chamber 26 above the piston 27. A spring is provided to supply pressure air through the vent hole 34. The piston 27 is moved downward by the spring during the filling operation, and pressure air is supplied through the vent hole 34 during the cleaning operation. Thus, the piston 27 can be configured to move up. It is also possible to configure so that a filling operation or a cleaning operation can be set by selectively supplying pressure air to both sides of the piston 27 and moving the piston 27 up and down. Further, the micro head 30 may be configured by an electric drive system instead of manual operation, or an adjustment unit may be configured by using another driving unit such as an electromagnetic actuator instead of the micro head 30 itself. Is possible.
[0013]
Next, another embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an embodiment in which the flow rate adjusting valve 1 is applied to a pressure filling system. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, it is configured so that pressure air can be supplied to a liquid supply tank 35 storing a filling liquid such as a chemical liquid through an air supply pipe 36 and provided in the middle of the air supply pipe 36. Further, the pressure in the liquid supply tank 35 is adjusted by the pressure adjusting valve 37 so that the supply pressure of the filling liquid can be set to a predetermined value. A liquid supply header 39 is connected to the outflow side of the liquid supply tank 35 via a pipe line 38. The liquid supply header 39 is connected to a required number of filling pipes 40, and each of the filling pipes 40 is passed through the flow rate adjusting valve 1 and the filling on-off valve 6 in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. By connecting the filling nozzle 10, a required number of filling pipelines are formed, and the container 41 such as an ampoule is filled. In the figure, reference numeral 42 denotes a control device. The control device 42 includes a hydraulic pressure signal in the liquid supply header 39 detected by the pressure sensor 43 and, if necessary, a supply temperature detected by the liquid temperature sensor 44. A liquid temperature signal in the liquid header 39 is configured to be constantly input, and the input / output signal is configured to perform opening / closing control of the on-off valve 6 for filling.
[0014]
Therefore, when the filling nozzle 10 is inserted into the corresponding container 41, the control device 42 controls the opening of each filling on-off valve 6 to start filling the container 41. In that case, it is the same as in the case of the above-described embodiment that the respective flow rates are adjusted to predetermined values in advance via the flow rate adjusting valves 1 disposed in the respective filling pipelines. Further, in the control device 42 of the present embodiment, a predetermined function of the pressure in the liquid supply header 39 and the filling time is set, and based on this function, the pressure value from the pressure sensor 43 is used. The estimated filling completion time T that will fill the container 41 with a predetermined amount of filling liquid is calculated, and when the elapsed time after the filling starts reaches the expected filling completion time T, the opening and closing for filling is performed. The valve 6 is sequentially controlled to be closed to stop the filling of each container 41, so that the quantitative filling is performed.
[0015]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of arithmetic processing in the control device 42. The control device 42 in the present embodiment is configured to suppress fluctuations in the filling amount when the pressure of the filling liquid fluctuates after the start of filling. That is, first, when filling of the container 41 is started by controlling the opening of the filling on-off valve 6 in step S1, the process proceeds to step S2, and the pressure sensor 43 detects when the filling is started. The pressure value is read, and in step S3, the first expected completion time T of filling is calculated and stored from the previously set function of the pressure and the filling time based on the pressure value. Further, when an appropriate time (for example, 7/100 seconds) has elapsed from the calculation of the first expected filling end time T, the process returns to step S2 to read the pressure value from the pressure sensor 43 again, and in step S3, 2 The predicted filling end time T for the second time is calculated, and the first predicted filling end time T stored previously is replaced with the estimated second filling end time T obtained this time and stored. In this case, in the calculation of the expected filling end time T after the second time, for example, an average value of the pressure of the filling liquid input so far through the pressure sensor 43 is obtained, and the average value of the pressure is calculated. Based on the above function, the expected filling completion time T at which the container 41 will be filled with a predetermined amount is obtained. As described above, each time an appropriate time (for example, 7/100 seconds, 10/100 seconds, 8/100 seconds) elapses after the filling is started, the pressure value from the pressure sensor 43 is read and sequentially filled. By obtaining and storing the expected end time T, the correction operation of updating to the expected filling end time T based on the latest pressure is repeated.
[0016]
On the other hand, in step S4, the elapsed time from the start of filling is read by a built-in timer or the like, and in step S5, the latest expected filling end time T obtained in step S3 is read. Are compared in step S6, and if the elapsed time has not reached the expected filling end time T, the process returns to step S4 and the above operations are repeated. When the elapsed time from the start of filling reaches the expected filling end time T, the process proceeds to step S7 to control the closing of the on-off valve 6 for filling. In step S8, the elapsed time and the pressure from the pressure sensor 43 are controlled. The stored value such as the value and estimated filling end time T is cleared and returned to the initial value, and the series of filling operations is completed.
[0017]
In the above description, regarding the calculation of the expected filling end time T for the second and subsequent times, the average value of the pressures input so far through the pressure sensor 43 is obtained, and the latest based on the average value of the pressures. The calculation method of obtaining the expected completion time T of filling is adopted, but the following method can also be adopted. For example, the average value of several consecutive pressure values of the pressure values sequentially input via the pressure sensor 43 is sequentially obtained, and the expected filling end time t is sequentially calculated based on the average value based on the function. It is also possible to perform a calculation method in which the expected filling end time t obtained above is averaged again to obtain the latest expected filling end time T. Further, a calculation method of obtaining the latest expected filling end time T by averaging the estimated filling end time T itself calculated so far is also possible. In the above calculation of the expected filling end time T, it is possible to perform temperature compensation based on the liquid temperature of the filling liquid detected by the liquid temperature sensor 44 as necessary.
[0018]
Further, instead of the function of the filling liquid pressure and the filling time described above, the function of the filling liquid pressure and the filling amount is set in the control device 42 in advance and detected based on the function of the pressure and the filling amount. The individual filling amount is calculated from the measured pressure value, the calculation of the individual filling amount is periodically executed and stored, and the individual filling amount is integrated to obtain the total filling amount to control the opening / closing of the on-off valve for filling. It is also possible to configure so as to execute (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-2583).
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
According to the filling apparatus according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) During the filling operation, the valve shaft portion, whose diameter is reduced at the tip, is advanced and retracted in the cylindrical portion formed at the outlet, thereby enabling high-precision fine adjustment and easy accurate flow rate adjustment. can get. Therefore, accurate quantitative filling can be realized easily and reliably in cooperation with the on-off control of the downstream on-off valve.
(2) At the time of washing operation, the so releasing means by to eliminate the flow resistance by withdrawing the valve shaft from the tubular portion can avoid a decrease in flow rate of the cleaning liquid, the filling line system as in the conventional A good cleaning action can be easily obtained without increasing the overall pressure or providing a bypass.
(3) Moreover, in the present invention, since the technical means of installing the adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate in the opening operation piston provided in the opening means is adopted, a simple configuration using the opening operation piston. Accordingly, it is possible to easily realize the flow rate adjustment at the time of filling in which the valve shaft portion is inserted into the cylindrical portion and the cleaning operation at the time of the opening operation in which the valve shaft portion is extracted from the cylindrical portion.
( 4 ) When applied to a small-capacity filling device such as a chemical solution, accurate quantitative filling, which is not easy with conventional technical means, is simplified by the cooperation of the flow rate adjusting valve and the filling on-off valve according to the present invention. In addition, it can be ensured stably, and at the same time, the difficulty of cleaning work associated with a small-capacity filling device is reduced, which is extremely effective.
( 5 ) Also, when applied to the pressure filling method, accurate quantitative filling can be ensured easily and stably and a good cleaning action can be easily obtained.
( 6 ) In addition, in the case of the pressure filling method, the individual filling calculated based on the function of the filling liquid pressure and the filling amount and the estimated filling end time calculated based on the function of the filling liquid pressure and the filling time If the control method of executing the opening / closing control of the on-off valve for filling based on the total filling amount obtained by integrating the amount is adopted, it becomes more accurate in small-capacity filling etc. in cooperation with the flow rate adjusting valve. This is extremely effective in ensuring a stable filling.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a flow rate adjusting valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged main part of a flow rate adjusting valve during a filling operation.
FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged main part of a flow rate adjusting valve during a cleaning operation.
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an embodiment in which the flow rate adjusting valve is applied to a pressure filling method.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of arithmetic processing in the control device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flow control valve, 2 ... Connection clamp, 3 ... Supply header, 4 ... Pipe line, 5 ... Connection clamp, 6 ... Filling on-off valve, 7 ... Pipe line, 8 ... Rotary table, 9 ... Rotation support Parts 10, filling nozzle 11, holder 12, connecting member 13 for cleaning, 13 hose for discharging cleaning liquid, 14 inlet, 15 outlet, 16 valve chamber, 17 first block, 18 valve body , 19 ... 2nd block, 20 ... valve stem part, 21 ... cylindrical part, 22 ... partition member, 23 ... support member, 24 ... bearing part, 25 ... spring, 26 ... cylinder chamber, 27 ... piston, 28 ... supply Hole, 29 ... convex portion, 30 ... micro head, 31 ... output shaft, 32, 33 ... sealing member, 34 ... vent hole, 35 ... liquid supply tank, 36 ... air supply pipe, 37 ... pressure regulating valve, 38 ... pipe 39, liquid supply header, 40 ... filling tube, 41 ... container, 42 ... control device 43 ... pressure sensor, 44 ... liquid temperature sensor

Claims (2)

In a filling apparatus for performing quantitative filling by opening / closing control of a filling on-off valve, a valve chamber having an inlet and an outlet for a filling liquid, a cylindrical portion formed at the outlet, and a valve whose diameter is reduced toward the tip A valve body that has a shaft portion, inserts the valve shaft portion into the tubular portion and throttles the flow path, and moves the valve shaft portion forward and backward in the tubular portion in conjunction with the valve body. An adjusting means for adjusting, and a flow rate adjusting valve provided with an opening means for moving the adjusting means and extracting the valve shaft portion from the cylindrical portion are arranged upstream of the on-off valve for filling , and the adjusting means Is installed in a piston for opening operation provided in the opening means .   The filling liquid is supplied to the filling on-off valve in a pressurized state, and the opening / closing control of the filling on-off valve is executed by calculating the filling amount based on the pressure of the filling liquid. The filling device according to claim 1, which is configured.

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