JP4266917B2 - Method and apparatus for filling viscous mixture - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for filling a container with a viscous mixture by a negative pressure suction action and an apparatus for carrying out the method.

  The viscous mixture is also commonly referred to as a bulk, and is often found in, for example, cosmetic product forms. However, there is a problem that air bubbles are easily mixed when filling a container. When bubbles are mixed, the viscous mixture will come into contact with air, so the oxidation will be accelerated, or the liquid and gas will have large differences in thermal conductivity, friction coefficient, expansion coefficient, etc. This causes problems such as the appearance is not good, the touch is affected, the change with time is likely to occur, and when the bubbles come out on the surface, the bulk surface is lowered and the appearance is reduced. Moreover, when extracting from a nozzle, there also exists a problem that it will be in the state which scatters by a bubble coming out simultaneously with a bulk.

  On the other hand, when examining the prior art, there is an invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-296865, in which a filling nozzle of a viscous fluid filling machine is inserted into an insertion hole provided in the bottom plate, and the filling nozzle and the bottom plate are installed. An invention is disclosed in which a viscous fluid is filled into a housing through a filling nozzle while being lowered. In this case, if the internal volume before lowering the bottom plate is not equal to zero, air will be mixed. Also, the amount of increase in the internal volume by lowering the bottom plate and the filling amount of the viscous fluid must exactly match. If the filling amount does not match, bubbles will be mixed in the viscous fluid. Can also happen.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-296585

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and the problem is to fill a container with a viscous mixture without mixing bubbles. Another object of the present invention is to keep the bulk appearance and quality in a good condition for a long period of time by preventing air bubbles from being mixed, and to prevent changes in the amount and the like.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a method for filling a container with a viscous mixture, and positions the movable member inserted into the container slidable toward the lower opening of the container by negative pressure suction action. A means is provided in which a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the container at the upper opening rather than the movable member, and a viscous mixture is filled therein. For the apparatus used for carrying out the above method of filling the viscous mixture into the container, the lower opening, the inside of the cylindrical container into which the piston-like movable member is slidably inserted from the lower opening, and the viscous filling after filling A container body having a nozzle mounting portion for attaching a nozzle for extracting an object is provided at the top, a movable member is inserted into the container from the lower opening, and a bottom lid having a ventilation portion leading to the inside of the container is provided at the bottom. The nozzle mounting part and the bottom cover vent are connected to each other by connecting the nozzle mounting part and the bottom lid to the suction machine side while fixing to the opening and connecting the nozzle mounting part side and the filling machine side of the container body. It is desirable to apply a filling device in which the inside of the container is negatively pressured and the movable member is positioned on the bottom lid side by the suction force based on the negative pressure difference while the container is filled with the viscous mixture. .

  In the present invention, a viscous mixture is filled into a container, and the container filled with the viscous mixture constitutes a part of a product as it is. For this reason, how the viscous mixture is filled in the container is one of the important factors that lead to the quality evaluation of products. This may also suggest that the viscous mixture is visible from the outside of the container, but whether the container is transparent, translucent or opaque is not an important issue.

The container main body includes a lower opening, the container interior, and a nozzle mounting portion, and the container interior needs to be in a cylinder shape in order to slidably insert a piston-like movable member. By inserting the movable member, the space inside the container is divided into an upper part than the movable member and a lower part than the movable member. A nozzle mounting portion for attaching a nozzle for extracting the viscous mixture after filling is provided on the upper portion of the container body. In many cases, the nozzle mounting portion has a smaller diameter than the container main body. In this case, the movable member is inserted into the container through the lower opening of the container main body, and then the bottom cover is used. Further, the lower opening of the container body is closed by the bottom lid after the movable member is inserted, and even after being closed, it communicates with the inside of the container body by the ventilation portion provided in the bottom lid.

  The nozzle mounting part of the container body is connected to the filling machine side for filling the viscous mixture in the container above the movable member and the suction machine side for sucking air from the inside of the upper container. A suction machine side for sucking air from the inside of the container below the movable member is connected to the lower opening. In this state, when the air inside the container is sucked through the upper nozzle mounting part and the vent part of the bottom lid by operating the suction machine, negative pressure is generated in the container above and below the movable member. Since the inside of the container is negative pressure, there is a pressure difference with the outside of the container. Under this pressure difference, the viscous mixture is supplied from the filling machine side, and the container above the movable member through the nozzle mounting part. Since the inside is filled with a viscous mixture, the possibility of air bubbles mixing is extremely small.

  The movable member inserted into the container moves in advance to the bottom lid side before being filled with the viscous mixture. Prior to filling the viscous mixture, the inside of the container is negatively pressurized on both the upper and lower sides of the movable member. The degree of negative pressure is determined by the pressure P2 at the lower part of the movable member. The pressure is set lower than the pressure P1 (see P1> P2 in FIG. 3). This is to prevent the movable member inserted in the container from moving upward when the pressure P1 at the upper part of the movable member is lower than the pressure P2 at the lower part (P1 <P2). The vacuum pressure of the suction pipe communicating with the suction machine side can be adjusted by a valve or the like. Therefore, the difference between the lower pressure P2 and the upper pressure P1 only needs to be such that it can be positioned on the bottom lid side so that the movable member does not move upward due to the differential pressure.

  It is desirable to provide a sealing means that enables reliable and easy connection at the connecting portion between the nozzle mounting portion of the container body and the filling machine side and the suction device side, and similarly at the lower opening of the container body and the suction device side. . In the present invention, since the inside of the container is negative pressure and a suction force acts, if the contact between the opening end of the nozzle mounting part on the upper part of the container body, the opening end of the lower part, and each connection part is performed correctly Even without using a special sealing mechanism, complete connection management can be performed only by contact and separation. Since the movable member rises as the internal volume becomes small due to the extraction operation from the nozzle after filling the viscous mixture, air does not enter even if the internal volume is reduced.

  Since the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, by filling the viscous mixture inside the container that is negative with respect to the atmospheric pressure, mixing of bubbles in the filled viscous mixture is eliminated. As a result, bulk quality is prevented from deteriorating quickly, stability is improved, appearance quality can be kept good for a long period of time, and the content of the viscous mixture decreases with use. By raising the movable member, there is an effect of preventing a space from being generated.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an example of a container 10 used in the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a nozzle for extracting a viscous packing after filling, 12 is a container body, and has a cylindrical container interior 13. The nozzle mounting portion 14 is provided at the upper portion and the lower opening 15 is provided at the lower portion. The nozzle mounting portion 14 has an upper opening 17 having a small diameter. A piston-like movable member 16 slidable in contact with the entire circumference is inserted into the cylindrical container interior 13, and a bottom lid 18 having a vent 19 passing through the inside and outside of the container is inserted into the lower opening 15. Is fixed.

  In the container 10 having such a configuration, the nozzle mounting portion 14 of the container body 12 is connected to the filling machine side 20 and the lower opening 15 is connected to the suction machine side 30. The nozzle mounting portion 14 is also connected to the suction machine side 30. The connection can be made by any means and method as long as confidentiality and liquid tightness are maintained. In the case of illustration, the filling machine side 20 and the nozzle mounting part 14 are connected by using a resilient member such as a rubber plate as the sealing means 21, and the same resilient member is used for the other sealing means 31 by the suction machine side. 30 and the lower opening 15 are connected.

  An unillustrated filling machine has an apparatus configuration for filling a viscous mixture such as cream, and the tip of a bulk filling pipe 22 extending from the filling machine passes through the sealing member 21 described above. It enters into the upper opening (bottle opening) 17 of the nozzle mounting part 14 and supplies the viscous mixture to the inside 13 of the container.

  On the other hand, the suction machine (not shown) uses a vacuum pump, and is provided so that the suction pipe 32 communicates with the ventilation part 19 of the bottom lid 18 fitted to the lower opening 15 through the lower sealing means 31. ing. The suction pipe 32 is provided so as to be movable up and down together with the lower seal means 31 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, and therefore can correspond to the size of the container 10. Reference numerals 33 and 34 denote intake systems, which are connected to a vacuum pump. The upper intake system 34 also faces the opening of the nozzle mounting portion 14 and can vacuum-suck the air inside the container 13. The pressure P2 of the lower intake system 33 is set to be stronger than the pressure P1 of the upper intake system 34 (P1> P2), as already mentioned.

Filling method The nozzle 11 is removed from the container 10 shown in FIG. 1, the movable member 16 inserted into the container inside 13 is positioned on the bottom lid side, and the bottom lid 18 is fixed to the lower opening 15. It arrange | positions between the lower seal means 31 and the upper seal means 21 which comprise the apparatus 40 of invention, and it sets under the airtight and liquid tight conditions by the vertical movement of the lower piping 32 (refer FIG. 2). Next, the operation of a suction machine (not shown) is introduced into this apparatus, and the pressure P1 of the lower suction system 33 is set to be stronger than the pressure P2 of the upper intake system 34, whereby the movable member 16 is moved toward the lower opening 15. And the filling machine is operated to feed the viscous mixture into the container interior 13. Although the viscous mixture is introduced above the movable member 16, the inside of the container 13 is in a vacuum, and the inside of the container is kept at a low pressure during the filling, and the viscous mixture fills the inside of the container with the filling. The filling operation is completed while being positioned on the bottom lid 18.

  As described above, according to the present invention, bubbles can be prevented from being mixed by filling the viscous mixture with the inside of the container in a negative pressure state. That is, when the inside of the container is filled with the viscous mixture, the inside of the container is under a negative pressure, so that the possibility of air mixing is eliminated and the filling is performed smoothly due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside. Further, even if the internal volume is reduced by extracting the viscous mixture from the nozzle, the movable member rises as the internal volume is reduced, so that air can be prevented from entering the container.

  The present invention can be applied to general uses for filling containers with machine oil, grease, building adhesives, coating materials, fluid pastes such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and jelly-like or cream-like substances.

The front view of the container used for the filling method of the viscous mixture which concerns on this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the apparatus used for implementation of the filling method of the viscous mixture which concerns on this invention. The principal part enlarged view of an apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 11 Nozzle 12 Container main body 13 Container part 14 Nozzle mounting part 15 Lower opening 16 Movable member 17 Upper opening 18 Bottom cover 19 Ventilation part 20 Filler side 21, 31 Sealing means 22 Bulk filling pipe 30 Suction machine side 32 Suction piping 33 34 suction system

Claims (3)

A method for filling a container with a viscous mixture, wherein a movable member slidably inserted into a container is positioned toward the lower opening of the container by a negative pressure suction action, and the upper member is positioned above the movable member. A method for filling a viscous mixture, characterized in that a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the container and the viscous mixture is filled therein. An apparatus used for carrying out a method of filling a viscous mixture into a container, comprising a lower opening, an inside of a cylindrical container into which a piston-like movable member is slidably inserted from the lower opening, and a viscous filling after filling A container body having a nozzle mounting portion for attaching a nozzle for extracting the upper portion, a movable member being inserted into the container from the lower opening, and a bottom lid having a ventilation portion leading to the inside of the container being opened in the lower portion The nozzle mounting part side and the filling machine side of the container main body are connected to each other, and the nozzle mounting part and the bottom lid are connected to the suction machine side, so that the nozzle mounting part and the bottom lid are passed through. An apparatus for filling a viscous mixture, wherein the inside of the container is made negative pressure, and the movable member is positioned toward the bottom lid side by a suction force based on the negative pressure difference while the container is filled with the viscous mixture. The connection part between the nozzle mounting part of the container body and the filling machine side and the suction machine side, and the connection part between the lower opening of the container body and the suction machine side are provided with elastic sealing means in order to obtain a sealing property by contact. 3. The viscous mixture filling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the viscous mixture filling apparatus is provided.

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