JP4380833B2 - Liquid filling method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a liquid-filled method, in particular, to a suitable liquid-filled manner with the case of filling a filling liquid into a container of amorphous.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Various types of filling nozzles have been proposed and developed for filling a container with a certain amount of liquid.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-35003 discloses a technique of using a check valve that can be switched between a negative pressure and a positive pressure, and filling the liquid after extracting air from the container by the negative pressure. Hereinafter, an outline of such a filling nozzle will be described with reference to FIG.
[0003]
In FIG. 4, the metering piston / cylinder 34 sucks the filling liquid from the tank 31 containing the filling liquid through the switching valve 33 and measures and discharges the filling liquid.
The filling nozzle 40 guides and fills the container 1 with a filling liquid, and a plug rod 46 provided with an air passage 46b is provided at the center thereof so as to be movable up and down. A check valve 45 that is switched by pressure is provided. The filling nozzle 40 is connected to the measuring piston / cylinder 34 via the switching valve 33.
[0004]
When filling the container 1 with the filling liquid using the filling nozzle 40, the mouth of the container 1 is brought into contact with the centering bell 43 and the plug rod 46 is centered at the outer peripheral edge of the mouth of the container 1. .
Thereafter, the plug rod 46 is lowered until the distal end portion of the plug rod 46 enters the small diameter cylindrical portion 41a of the nozzle valve body, and the opening of the small diameter cylindrical portion 41a is closed. The air passage 46b provided is set to a negative pressure, and the air in the container 1 is discharged.
[0005]
When the discharge of the air in the container 1 is completed, the air passage 46b is switched to a positive pressure state, and the check valve 45 provided at the tip of the plug rod 46 is closed. Then, the plug rod 46 is moved upward to open the opening of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 41a, and the container 1 is filled with liquid.
After filling with the liquid, the plug rod 46 is moved downward to again close the opening of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 41a, and then the container 1 is separated from the filling nozzle 40. Then, the air passage 46 b is set to a negative pressure, and the filled droplets remaining at the opening of the small diameter cylinder portion 41 a and the tip of the plug rod 46 are sucked.
The filling nozzle 40 having such a configuration is used for filling an irregularly shaped container with a filling liquid.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional filling nozzle 40, since the liquid is filled after the air is extracted from the container 1 by the negative pressure, foaming in the filling liquid is suppressed, and as a result, the filling accuracy is improved. Further, the liquid does not flow back from the container 1 to the air passage 46b during filling, and the plug rod 46 is made negative by setting the air passage 46b of the plug rod 46 to a negative pressure after the filled container is separated. The liquid droplets remaining on the tip of the tube, the small diameter cylinder portion 41a, and the like can be sucked off to prevent the container 1 from being soiled by drooping.
[0007]
However, when this filling nozzle 40 is applied to the filling of a liquid having a high viscosity or a mixture of solids, the liquid is sucked into the plug rod 46, so that the check valve 45 sticks over time. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to move.
An object of the present invention, in view of such circumstances, even when applied to the filling of the high-viscosity liquid is to provide a liquid-filled method is Ru can be to avoid a disadvantage due to sticking of the high viscosity liquid .
[0008]
The present invention provides a hollow nozzle valve body having a small diameter cylindrical portion constituting an opening for filling liquid at the tip and a liquid inlet for introducing a filling liquid therein, and the nozzle valve body A plug rod inserted into the nozzle valve body in the axial direction and in a liquid-tight manner, having a tip shape capable of entering into the small-diameter cylindrical portion, and having a gas passage opening therein at the tip; A closing means for closing the opening of the nozzle valve body when the tip of the plug rod enters the small-diameter cylinder, a driving means for driving the plug rod in the axial direction, and a gas passage for the plug rod An opening / closing valve that opens and closes at the tip of the plug rod, and a liquid filling method using a filling nozzle, wherein the opening of the nozzle body is closed and the mouth of the container is closed at the tip of the opening Closely A step of opening the on-off valve after the gas passage is brought into a negative pressure state and discharging the air in the container; and after the air inside the container is discharged, closing the on-off valve to the gas passage A step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the gas passage, opening the opening to start filling the liquid, closing the opening after completion of the filling, and opening of the container After the part is separated from the tip of the opening, the on-off valve is opened to cause the gas and cleaning liquid in the gas passage to be ejected from the tip of the plug rod, and by the ejected gas and cleaning liquid, the tip of the plug rod and Blowing away the filled droplets remaining in the opening, thereby achieving the above object.
In an embodiment, the pressurized state of the gas passage is switched from the low pressure state to the high pressure state in the step of blowing off the filled droplets.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a filling nozzle of the present invention applied to a filling device for filling a certain amount of filling liquid into a bag-like amorphous container with a stopper will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a filling apparatus including a cross section of a filling nozzle 140 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the positions of the plug rod 46 and the air valve 145 of the filling nozzle 140 during the liquid filling process.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the air valve 145 during the air suction process. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2 and shows a cross-sectional shape of the air valve 145.
In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the element of the same shape and the same function as the component of the prior art example shown in FIG.
[0010]
The filling apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a plurality of filling nozzles 140 according to the present invention (only one is shown in the figure). In this filling apparatus, the filling liquid filled in the filling tank 31 flows down to the manifold 32, and then is branched by the same number of branch pipes 32a as the filling nozzles 140. It is introduced into the switching valve 33.
[0011]
The switching valve 33 has a configuration in which a piston-type spool 33b is slidably disposed in a cylinder-shaped valve body 33c, and is switched by driving the spool 33b in the axial direction by an actuator 33a.
The switching valve 33 is first switched so that the branch pipe 32a is connected to the liquid passage 34a. That is, the spool 33b is moved to a position indicated by a two-dot chain line. As a result, the filling liquid introduced into the branch pipe 32a is sent to the piston-type metering pump 34. Therefore, the metering pump 34 sucks the filling liquid and measures and stores a predetermined amount of liquid.
[0012]
Next, the switching valve 33 is switched so that the liquid passage 34 a is connected to the flexible filling pipe 36. That is, the spool 33b is moved to the position indicated by the solid line. Therefore, the metering pump 34 turns to the discharge stroke and sends the metered filling liquid to the filling nozzle 140 through the flexible filling tube 36.
In this embodiment, the air cylinder 35 is used as a drive source of the metering pump 34. However, the pump 34 can be driven by a mechanical drive source such as a crank rotation mechanism or a rotation cam mechanism. .
[0013]
Next, the filling nozzle 140 will be described. The filling nozzle 140 includes a nozzle valve body 41, a plug rod 46, an air valve 145, an outer cylinder 42, a centering bell 43, a compression spring 44, an upper outer cylinder 51, an air cylinder 53, a cylinder 54, and the like. Yes.
[0014]
The nozzle valve main body 41 includes a connection pipe 41 c that is connected to the flexible filling pipe 36 through a half joint 59. The nozzle valve main body 41 is formed hollow inside, and a small diameter cylindrical portion 41a having a reduced diameter is formed at a lower end portion located downstream of the connection pipe 41c.
Inside the nozzle valve body 41, a plug rod 46 is inserted in a fluid-tight manner so as to be vertically movable. The plug rod 46 forms an air passage 46b along its central axis, and an air valve 145 described later is provided at the lower end of the plug rod 46, and a cylinder 54 is attached to the upper end thereof.
[0015]
The cylinder 54 is fitted with a piston 77b that moves up and down by operating air. The rod 77 of the piston 77b passes through the air passage 46b of the plug rod 46, and a valve body 48 is fixed to the tip thereof.
The valve body 48 is coaxially arranged in the hollow valve cylinder 47 screwed to the tip of the plug rod 46 so as to be movable up and down. As shown in FIG. 2, a tapered surface 48 a is formed at the lower end of the valve body 48, and a suction hole 47 a is formed at the lower end of the valve cylinder 47.
[0016]
When the valve body 48 moves up and down by raising and lowering the piston 77b, the tapered surface 48a of the valve body 48 comes into contact with and separates from the inner tapered surface of the suction hole 47. That is, the valve body 48 opens and closes the suction hole 47a. Thus, the valve body 48 and the valve cylinder 47 constitute an air valve 145 that opens and closes the suction hole 47a.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of grooves 48 b forming an air passage are provided along the axial direction on the upper peripheral surface of the valve body 48 that is in sliding contact with the valve cylinder 47.
An O-ring 49 is fitted on the tapered outer peripheral surface of the valve cylinder 47. The O-ring 49 abuts against a tapered surface formed on the lower inner side of the nozzle valve body 41 when the plug rod 46 is pushed down, and serves as a closing packing when the filling nozzle 140 operates as a liquid valve. When the plug rod 46 is pushed down, the air valve 145 is inserted into a small diameter cylindrical portion 41 a formed at the lower end portion of the nozzle valve main body 41.
[0017]
On the outer periphery of the lower part of the nozzle valve body 41, an outer cylinder 42 having a diameter larger than the outer diameter is fixed by a half-joint 57, and a centering bell 43 is fitted so as to be movable up and down. The centering bell 43 is always urged downward by a compression spring 44 provided between the nozzle valve body 41 and the outer cylinder 42, and the centering bell 43 is pulled out downward by the lower end of the outer cylinder 42 formed in an inner flange shape. It is prevented.
[0018]
When the filling nozzle 140 is lowered while the container 1 is set just below the filling nozzle 140, the mouth of the container 1 comes into contact with the centering bell 43. After that, the centering bell 43 is pushed up relatively against the urging force of the compression spring 44, and at that time, the centering bell 43 is centered by the outer peripheral shoulder of the mouth of the container 1. The centering bell 43 that has been centered is pushed up as it is, and as a result, the mouth of the container 1 closely contacts the tip of the nozzle valve body 41 with high accuracy.
[0019]
An upper outer cylinder 51 is coaxially connected to the upper part of the nozzle valve main body 41 by a half joint 58, and an air cylinder 53 that drives the plug rod 46 to move up and down is attached to the upper part of the upper outer cylinder 51. ing.
The operating rod 53 a of the air cylinder 53 is coupled to the cylinder 54 fixed to the plug rod 46. The four-way selector valve 62 for operating the air cylinder 53 is interposed between the operating air pipe 64 and the pipes 63 and 63a to the air cylinder 53, and the three-way selector valve 82 for operating the cylinder 54 is operated as described above. It is interposed between the air pipe 64 and the pipe 83 to the cylinder 54.
The reason why the three-way type switching valve 82 that operates the cylinder 54 is used is that the urging force of the compression spring 78 is used as the upward operating force of the piston 77b of the cylinder 54.
[0020]
The air passage 46 b of the plug rod 46 is connected to the vacuum pipe 74 a and the compressed air pipe 92 via an air pipe joint 55, an air pipe 56 and a three-way switching valve 61 screwed into the plug rod 46.
The vacuum pipe 74 a is connected to the ejector 74. Note that the air supplied from the low-pressure air pipe 93 is used as the operating air for the ejector 74. The compressed air pipe 92 is connected to a high-pressure air pipe 94 for supplying clean air and the low-pressure air pipe 933 through a four-way switching valve 91.
[0021]
The cleaning process is executed only once in one filling cycle of the filling nozzle 140. That is, clean water (for example, aseptic water, hot water, hot water, etc.) is sent to the metering pump 85 through the check valve 88 with the air valve 145 closed. As a result, a small amount of clean water is discharged from the metering pump 85, and the clean water passes through the check valve 86, the water pipe 87, the water supply joint 84 attached to the plug rod 46, and the air passage 46b. To the upper space of the air valve 145.
The water is blown out of the air valve 145 together with clean air at the same time as the air valve 145 is opened to clean the air valve 145 and the opening 90 of the filling nozzle 140. The pipes 63, 63a, 83, 56 and 87 are all flexible pipes.
[0022]
The nozzle valve main body 41 is supported by a support base 66 through a flange portion 41 d integrally formed on the upper peripheral surface thereof, and is fixed to the support base 66 by a presser plate 67. The support base 66 is attached to lifting means (not shown). Therefore, the filling nozzle 140 can be moved up and down by a predetermined distance at a predetermined position by the lifting means.
Hereinafter, a procedure for filling the container 1 with the liquid using the filling nozzle 140 will be described. In the following description, the above-described cleaning process using clean water is omitted.
[0023]
(1) Lowering the filling nozzle 140 and tightly sealing the container port 1 with the lower end of the nozzle valve body 41:
As shown in FIG. 2, the plug rod 46 is lowered to the lower end, and the liquid valve of the filling nozzle 140 is closed by the peripheral surface of the air valve 145 provided at the tip of the plug rod 46. In this state, the container 1 is introduced to a position directly below the filling nozzle 140 and is gripped by the container gripper 2, and then the filling nozzle 140 is lowered. As a result, the guide portion 43a of the centering bell 43 comes into contact with the outer peripheral edge of the mouth of the container 1 so that the filling nozzle 140 is centered, and the mouth of the container 1 is in close contact with the lower end of the nozzle valve body 41. Sealed.
[0024]
(2) Evacuating the air in the container 1 (time is 0.3 sec, for example):
The three-way switching valve 61 is switched to connect the air passage 46 b of the plug rod 46 to the vacuum pipe 74 a of the ejector 74. Thereby, the air in the vacuum piping 74a is evacuated.
At the same time, the switching valve 82 is switched to release the operating air from the cylinder 54. By this operation, since the rod 77 by the repulsive force of the spring 78 is pulled, an air valve 1 45 is opened that is provided at the lower end of the plug rod 46, as a result, out-suck bag-shaped air amorphous vessel 1 Thus, the container 1 is reduced to a flat plate shape.
[0025]
(3) Closing the air valve 145:
The three-way switching valve 82 is switched to the operating air supply side, and the air valve 145 is closed. At the same time, the three-way selector valve 61 is switched so that the pressure in the air passage 46b of the plug rod 46 becomes the pressure of the compressed air on the low pressure side.
[0026]
(4) Filling:
By switching the switching valve 62, the air cylinder 53 is degenerated. As a result, the plug rod 46 rises, so that the liquid valve constituted by the valve cylinder 47 and the lower part of the nozzle valve main body 41 is opened as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, the metering pump 34 is simultaneously operated to feed the metered filling liquid in the pump 34 to the filling nozzle 140. As a result, a predetermined amount of filling liquid is filled into the container 1 from the opening 90 of the filling nozzle 140.
[0027]
(5) Closing the fluid valve:
By switching the switching valve 62, the air cylinder 53 is extended. As a result, the plug rod 46 is lowered, so that the tip of the air valve 145 is inserted into the opening 90 of the filling nozzle 140 as shown in FIG. That is, the liquid valve is closed.
[0028]
(6) Raising filling nozzle:
The filling nozzle 140 is raised by a nozzle lifting / lowering means (not shown), and the lower end of the filling nozzle 140 is separated from the container 1.
[0029]
(7) Removal of residual filling liquid:
After the container 1 is sufficiently separated from the lower end of the filling nozzle 140, the three-way switching valve 82 is operated to the air discharge side to open the air valve 145. As a result, the low-pressure air flows through the tip of the plug rod 46 via the air passage 46b, so that the filled droplets remaining at the tip are blown away.
Subsequently, the four-way switching valve 91 is operated to switch the air sent to the pipe 92 to high-pressure air. Since this high-pressure air is ejected from the air valve 145 through the air passage 46b, the filling droplets remaining at the tip of the plug rod 46 and the lower portion of the filling nozzle 140 are further blown away for cleaning.
This air cleaning may be performed in a short time. When cleaning is finished, first, the four-way switching valve is switched to switch the air sent to the air passage 46b to low-pressure air, and then the three-way switching valve 82 is switched to the air supply side to close the air valve 145. .
[0030]
(8) Container replacement, filling liquid measurement:
After the filled container having been filled is sent out, the empty container 1 is introduced under the filling nozzle 140. On the other hand, the changeover valve 33 is switched during the container exchange so that the liquid passage 32a on the filling liquid tank 31 side communicates with the liquid passage 34a on the metering pump 34 side, and the metering pump 34 is operated on the suction side, The metering pump 334 is filled with a specified amount of filling liquid.
Thereafter, the above process cycle is repeated.
[0031]
[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the water pump 85 is turned on after the step (3) in the first embodiment until the step (7), that is, while the air valve 145 is closed. A step of operating once is provided.
When the water pump 85 is operated, a small amount of clean water flows from the upper portion of the air passage 46 b of the plug rod 46 through the water pipe 87 and the water supply joint 84 and is stored in the air valve 145. Therefore, when the air valve 145 is opened in the step (7), the clean water flows through the tip of the plug rod 46 together with the clean air supplied from above the air passage 46b.
If the clean water is used together with air, the air valve 145 can be more reliably cleaned. That is, in the filling process, even when filling with drinking water or the like having a high sugar content and high viscosity, the sugar can be removed by washing with clean water. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, inconveniences such as the air valve 145 becoming difficult to move due to the stuck sugar content are avoided.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the liquid is filled after the air is evacuated from the container by the negative pressure, the foaming in the filling liquid can be suppressed and the filling accuracy can be improved, and the air is discharged from the container during the filling. Liquid does not flow back into the tube.
In addition, after the filling is finished, the pressurized gas is sent to the gas passage in the plug rod after the container is separated, and this is blown out from the opening / closing valve provided at the tip of the plug rod. The liquid drop remaining in the liquid filling opening can be removed by blowing away, and as a result, contamination of the container due to sag is avoided.
Furthermore, even when a liquid with a high viscosity or a solid is mixed, the liquid will not be sucked into the plug rod, so that the liquid may stick to the on-off valve and hinder its movement. There is no. Moreover, even if some viscous material is stuck on the on-off valve, the on-off valve is forcibly operated by driving means such as an air cylinder, so that the function of the on-off valve is not impaired.
Furthermore, when washing water is fed into the gas passage in the plug rod, the sugar content should be reliably removed by washing with water even when applied to filling drinking water with high sugar content and high viscosity. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a filling apparatus including a cross section of a filling nozzle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation mode of a filling nozzle when sucking air in a container.
3 is an AA enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional filling nozzle.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Container gripper 31 Filling liquid tank 33 Switching valve 34 Metering pump 36 Flexible filling pipe,
41 Nozzle valve main body 41a Small diameter cylindrical portion 42 Outer cylinder 43 Centering bell 44 Compression spring 46 Plug rod 46a Air passage 51 Upper outer cylinder 53 Air cylinder 54 Cylinder 61 Three-way switching valve 62 Four-way switching valve 77 Rod 77b Piston 82 Three-way switching Valve 85 Pump 91 Four-way selector valve 140 Filling nozzle 145 Air valve

Claims (2)

A hollow nozzle valve body having a small-diameter cylindrical portion constituting an opening for liquid filling at the tip and a liquid inlet for introducing a filling liquid therein, and the nozzle in the nozzle valve body A plug rod that is movable and axially movable in the axial direction of the valve main body, has a tip shape that can enter the small diameter cylindrical portion, and has a gas passage that opens at the tip, and the plug rod A closing means for closing the opening of the nozzle valve body when the tip of the nozzle enters the small-diameter cylindrical portion, a driving means for driving the plug rod in the axial direction, and a gas passage of the plug rod through the plug rod An on-off valve that opens and closes at the tip of the liquid filling method using a filling nozzle comprising:
Bringing the mouth of the container into close contact with the tip of the opening with the opening of the nozzle body closed;
Opening the on-off valve after the gas passage is in a negative pressure state and discharging the air in the container;
After the air in the container is discharged, closing the on-off valve to bring the gas passage into a pressurized state, and supplying a cleaning liquid to the gas passage;
Opening the opening to start filling the liquid and closing the opening after the filling;
After the mouth of the container is separated from the front end of the opening, the on-off valve is opened to eject the gas and cleaning liquid in the gas passage from the front end of the plug rod. Blowing off the filling droplets remaining on the tip and opening of the rod;
A liquid filling method comprising: 2. The liquid filling method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of blowing off the filling droplets, the pressurized state of the gas passage is switched from a low pressure state to a high pressure state.

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