JP4501282B2 - Combined type filling device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a filling device that fills a liquid in a state where the inside of the container is sealed, and in particular, a container without a shoulder having a large opening such as a top open can (hereinafter referred to as a first type container), The present invention relates to a dual-purpose filling device that can be used as a bottle-type container (hereinafter referred to as a second-type container) having a shoulder such as a bottle or a can that can be resealed with a cap such as a PET bottle, reseal can, or bottle can. Is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The filling device generally includes a filling valve having a filling liquid passage formed inside the valve body and a liquid valve for opening and closing the filling liquid passage, and the liquid valve is opened so that the filling liquid passage opens into the container. The filling liquid is injected into the container. When filling a beverage containing carbon dioxide gas into a container with this filling device, it is necessary to seal the upper end opening of the container. For example, a cylindrical elevating member is provided on the filling valve. A centering guide that guides the upper end opening of the container and a packing that seals the upper end opening are attached to the member, and the packing is crimped to the entire periphery of the upper end opening of the container so that the inside of the container is sealed. Filled with carbon dioxide beverage.
[0003]
Since the first type container such as the top open can without the shoulder part and the bottle type second type container having the shoulder part are different in the diameter of the mouth part (upper end opening part), the carbonic acid as described above. In order to use a filling device for filling a gas-containing beverage or the like in both types of containers, a packing and a centering guide for sealing the inside of the container, and the cylindrical lifting and lowering to which the packing and the centering guide are attached are provided. The parts must be replaced.
[0004]
A filling device in which a cylindrical elevating member to which a packing for sealing an opening of a container and a centering guide are attached is replaceable (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-64698).
[0005]
In the filling device described in the above publication (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-64698), a centering guide for holding a packing (a seal member in this publication) at the lower end of a cylindrical lifting member (a seal member holder in this publication). Are attached, and these are exchanged integrally. The upper end of the seal member holder is housed in a holding cylinder that is airtight and fixed to the valve body, and the airtightness on the outer surface side is held by the packing held in the packing rod.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the case where the elevating member attached with the packing for sealing the container opening as described above is moved up and down with respect to the valve body (the valve body in the above publication), the packing is pressed against the container opening to seal the inside of the container. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain airtightness between the valve body and the elevating member fitted around the valve body. In the configuration of the filling device described in the above publication, the upper part of the elevating member (seal member holder) is accommodated in a holding cylinder fixed in an airtight manner on the outer periphery of the valve body and held in the packing rod. Since the airtightness on the valve body side is maintained by the sealed packing, the structure is complicated, and when replacing the seal member holder and packing (seal member), the packing rod must be removed. There was a problem that it took time and effort.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the elevating member and the packing can be exchanged by a simple operation. Moreover, the first type container and the second type container can be reliably obtained with a simple structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a dual-purpose filling device capable of sealing the inside.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A dual-purpose filling device according to the present invention includes a filling liquid passage formed in a valve body, a liquid valve that opens and closes the filling liquid passage, an exhaust passage formed inside the liquid valve, and an outer periphery of the valve body. A cylindrical elevating member that is detachably fitted to the elevating member, and a packing valve that is attached to the elevating member and that is in contact with the upper end opening of the container filled with the liquid. When filling the valve body with a large-diameter portion into which the elevating member is fitted and a small-diameter portion having a stopper at the lower end that is continuous therebelow, A lifting member with a packing that can pass through the outer periphery of the small-diameter portion of the valve body and a seal member that seals between the outer periphery of the valve body is mounted. Sealed When filling a second type container having a shoulder, a lifting member fitted with a packing capable of contacting the stopper of the valve body is mounted, and the packing is brought into contact with the opening of the container and the valve body. The inside of the container is sealed.
[0009]
The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that a driving means for opening and closing the liquid valve and a flow meter for detecting a filling amount flowing through the liquid valve are provided.
[0010]
In the dual-purpose filling device according to the present invention, the valve body is formed with a large-diameter portion into which the elevating member is fitted and a small-diameter portion having a stopper at the lower end that is continuous below the elevating member. When filling the seed container, the packing attached to the lifting member can be brought into pressure contact with both the opening of the container and the stopper of the valve body at the same time, and the airtightness is reliably maintained with an extremely simple structure. Can do.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views showing a filling valve (indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole) provided in a dual-use filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. When the container opening packing unit 2A for the first type container A such as a top open type can is installed, FIG. 2 shows the installation of the container type packing unit 2B for the bottle type second type container B having the shoulder Bb. Each case is shown.
[0012]
A plurality of filling valves 1 of the dual-use filling device according to this embodiment are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction near the outer periphery of a rotating body 58 (see FIG. 3 described later). A filling liquid passage 6 is formed inside the body 4, and the filling liquid supplied from a filling liquid tank (not shown) through the supply liquid pipe 8 passes through the filling liquid passage 6 and the first type container A or the second container A. It is injected into the seed container B. The liquid supply pipe 8 is provided with a flow meter 10 for measuring the amount of liquid filled in the containers A and B.
[0013]
A liquid valve 12 is provided in the filling liquid passage 6 formed in the valve body 4 so as to be movable up and down. When the liquid valve 12 is raised, the filling liquid passage 6 is opened and the containers A and B are opened. When the liquid valve 12 is lowered and seated on the valve seat 14 formed on the lower inner surface of the filling liquid passage 6, the filling liquid passage 6 is closed and filling is stopped.
[0014]
The liquid valve 12 is operated by a liquid valve operating cylinder (driving means) 16 provided in the upper part of the valve body 4. The cylinder 16 for operating the liquid valve is fitted in a space formed in the upper part of the valve body 4 so that a piston 18 can slide up and down via an O-ring 20. The interior is partitioned into two upper and lower pressure chambers 22 and 24. Both pressure chambers 22 and 24 are connected to an air supply source (not shown) via air inlets 26 and 28, respectively, and the piston 18 moves up and down by introducing air into one of the pressure chambers 22 and 24. To do. The piston 18 is connected to the liquid valve 12. When the piston 18 moves up and down, the liquid valve 12 moves up and down to open and close the filling liquid passage 6. In addition, 30 is a diaphragm which interrupts | blocks the cylinder 16 for liquid valve operation | movement which has a sliding part, and the filling liquid channel | path 6 side.
[0015]
An exhaust passage 13 is formed through the liquid valve 12, and a vent tube 15 </ b> A (see FIG. 1) or 15 </ b> B (see FIG. 2) is inserted into the lower end portion of the exhaust passage 13. Spreaders 15Aa and 15Ba are provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the lower ends of the vent tubes 15A and 15B so as to diffuse the liquid flowing down the filling liquid passage 6 and fill the inner surfaces of the containers A and B when filling. Yes. These vent tubes 15A and 15B are detachable, and are removed and replaced in accordance with the shapes of the containers A and B.
[0016]
At the lower part of the valve body 4, there are formed a large diameter portion 4a into which the container opening packing units 2A and 2B are slidably fitted, and a small diameter portion 4b continuous below the large diameter portion 4a. Further, a stopper portion 4c is provided at the lower end of the small-diameter portion 4b to which the upper surface of the bottle-type second container B packing 32 (see FIG. 2) having a shoulder Bb is crimped.
[0017]
A container port packing unit 2A or 2B is fitted to the outer periphery of the large diameter portion 4a formed at the lower portion of the valve body 4 so as to be movable up and down. A container opening packing unit 2A shown in FIG. 1 is used for a first type container A such as a top open can, and has a lifting member 34A having a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole. A seal member 36 is fitted to the sliding portion of the inner circumferential surface of the elevating member 34A to the valve body 4 to maintain airtightness with the valve body 4.
[0018]
A centering guide 38 for centering the container A is fixed to the lower end of the elevating member 34A. The centering guide 38 has an inner peripheral surface that gradually becomes smaller in diameter toward the upper side, and when the container A is fitted into the elevating member 34A by lowering of the container opening packing unit 2A (or raising of the container A), The container A is centered. Further, a packing (container opening packing) 40 is attached to the upper inner peripheral side of the centering guide 38 so as to be in close contact with the container opening (the upper end opening of the container A) Aa and seal the inside of the container A. The inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the elevating member 34A to which the packing 40 is attached is larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the small diameter portion 4b of the valve body 4, and the small diameter of the valve body 4 is raised when the elevating member 34A is raised and lowered. The part 4b can pass through.
[0019]
The lifting member 34A to which the centering guide 38 and the packing 40 are attached is lifted and lowered by lifting means (in this embodiment, the air cylinder 42). A cylindrical guide tube 44 is fixed to the side surface of the valve body 4, and an elevating rod 46 is supported in the guide tube 44 so as to be movable up and down. An elevating member 34A of the container port packing unit 2A is detachably attached to the lower end of the elevating rod 46 via a connecting member 48. In this embodiment, the upper end portion of the elevating member 34A is screwed into the annular portion 48a of the connecting member 48. On the other hand, the upper end of the lifting rod 46 is connected to the piston rod 42a of the air cylinder 42, and the lifting member 34A moves up and down via the lifting rod 46 by the operation of the air cylinder 42. The attachment of the container opening packing units 2A and 2B is not limited to a screw, but can be attached by other methods such as a clamp.
[0020]
A cam follower 50 is fixed to a connecting member 48 attached to the lower end of the elevating rod 46. The cam follower 50 engages with a cam (not shown) so that the container port packing screwed to the connecting member 48 is engaged. The unit 2A or 2B can be moved up and down.
[0021]
A container port packing unit 2B shown in FIG. 2 is used for a bottle-type second-type container B, and has a large-diameter cylindrical portion 34Ba that fits and slides on the outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 4a of the valve body 4. And an elevating member 34B having a small-diameter cylindrical portion 34Bb provided below the tapered portion. A centering guide 52 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the elevating member 34B to guide the mouth portion Ba of the container B that is lifted by a container plate 54 (see FIG. 3) with an air lifter 56. In addition, on the upper inner surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 34Bb of the elevating member 34B, a packing (sealing the inside of the container B in close contact with both the container port (upper opening portion of the container) Ba and the stopper portion 4c of the valve body 4 is provided. A container opening packing) 32 is attached.
[0022]
The said container plate 54 is each provided under each filling valve | bulb 1, and these container plates 54 are demonstrated with reference to FIG. Each of these container plates 54 is raised and lowered by an air lifter 56. An air lifter 56 for raising and lowering each container plate 54 is fixed upright on a cylinder 60 supported so as to be movable up and down in a through hole 58a formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rotary body 58 and on the lower side of the rotary body 58. A rod 62 is provided, and the cylinder 60 is fitted to the outer periphery of the rod 62 through a seal member 64 while maintaining airtightness. An air pressure chamber 66 is formed in the upper part of the cylinder 60, and air is supplied or discharged into the pressure chamber 66 through an air passage 62 a formed in the rod 62. The container plate 54 is attached to the upper ends of the cylinders 60. When air is introduced into the air pressure chamber 66, the cylinder 60 and the container plate 54 are raised, and when air is discharged, the cylinder 60 and the container plate 54 are lowered. .
[0023]
An annular elevating cam 68 is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the rotation path of the air lifter 56 provided in the rotating body 58. When air is introduced into the pressure chamber 66 in the cylinder 60, the cylinder 60 rises, The cam follower 70 fixed to the outer surface is pressed against a cam surface 68a formed on the lower surface side of the elevating cam 68 (see FIG. 3A). As the rotating body 58 rotates, the cam follower 70 moves along the cam surface 68a of the elevating cam 68, so that the cylinder 60 and the container plate 54 are raised and lowered according to the shape. When air is not introduced into the cylinder 60, the cylinder 60 and the container plate 54 are lowered to the lowest position so that the cam follower 70 does not contact the cam surface 68a of the elevating cam 68 (FIG. 3B). reference).
[0024]
When the bottle-type second-type container B is filled with this filling device, air is introduced into the pressure chamber 66 of the air lifter 56 and the container plate 54 is always urged upward, and the elevating cam 68 Thus, the container plate 54 is moved up and down by forcibly lowering the cam follower 70. When filling the first type container A such as a top open can, air is not supplied to the pressure chamber 66 of the air lifter 56 that moves the container plate 54 up and down, and the cam follower 70 of the cylinder 60 is connected to the lift cam 68. It is lowered to a position where it does not hit (see FIG. 3B).
[0025]
The operation of the dual-purpose filling device including the filling valve 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, the case where it fills with 1st type containers A, such as a top open can without a shoulder part, is demonstrated by FIG. When filling the first type container A, the container opening packing unit 2 </ b> A having the cylindrical lifting member 34 </ b> A is attached to the connecting member 48. Further, air is not supplied to the air lifter 56 of the container plate 54. The container plate 54 is kept lowered. In this embodiment, air is introduced into the air cylinder 42 so that the container opening packing unit 2A is always lowered, and the container A is supplied and discharged when the container A is supplied to the container plate 54. The cam follower 50 is pushed up by a cam that is not used to raise the container opening packing unit 2A.
[0026]
As described above, the first type container A is supplied onto the container plate 54 when the container opening packing unit 2A is pushed up by the cam. Thereafter, when passing through the section raised by the cam, the container opening packing unit 2A is lowered by the pressing force of the air cylinder 42, and the packing 40 is pressure-bonded to the upper end opening Aa of the container A. The inside of the container A is sealed by the packing 40 and a sealing member 36 that is fitted on the inner surface of the elevating member 34A and maintains the airtightness between the valve body 4 and the sealing member 36.
[0027]
Next, air is introduced into the lower pressure chamber 24 of the liquid valve operating cylinder 16 to raise the liquid valve 12. The liquid supplied from the filling liquid tank (not shown) through the supply pipe 8 is measured by the flow meter 10 and flows down through the filling liquid passage 6. The liquid that has passed between the liquid valve 12 and the valve seat 14 spreads outward by the spreader 15Aa of the vent tube 15A and flows along the inner surface of the container A to be filled. The liquid is filled in the container A, and the air remaining in the sealed container A is discharged from the exhaust passage 13. When the detection value of the flow meter 10 reaches a predetermined amount, air is introduced into the pressure chamber 22 above the liquid valve operating cylinder 16 to lower the liquid valve 12 to close the filling liquid passage 6 and finish filling.
[0028]
On the other hand, when filling the bottle type second type container B having the shoulder Bb, the container opening packing unit 2A for the first type container A is removed from the connecting member 48, and another second type container B is removed. A container opening packing unit 2B is attached. To switch from the first type container A to the second type container B, the lifting member 34A to which the packing 40 is attached is removed from the connecting member 48, and the other lifting member 34B is fitted to the large diameter portion 4a of the valve body 4. Therefore, since it is only connected to the connecting member 48, switching can be performed in a very short time with an extremely simple operation. Also, the reverse switching can be performed very easily. Furthermore, the vent tube 15A for the first type container A attached to the liquid valve 12 is removed and replaced with the vent tube 15B for the second type container B.
[0029]
When filling the second type container B, the lifting rod 46 is lifted by the air cylinder 42, and the upper surface of the packing 32 attached to the lower inner surface of the lifting member 34B of the container port packing unit 2B is placed on the valve body 4. It is made to contact | abut to the stopper 4c of the lower end of this.
[0030]
Since the second type container B is filled by inserting the vent tube 15B into the container B as described above, the container plate 54 is moved up and down by the air lifter 56 and filled. The container B is supplied at the lowered position, and then the container plate 54 is raised. When the container plate 54 is raised, the container B is raised, and its mouth portion Ba is guided by the centering guide 52 and pressed against the lower surface of the upper packing 32, and the upper surface of the packing 32 is pressed against the stopper 4 c of the valve body 4. As a result, the inside of the container B is sealed. As described above, the small-diameter portion 4b is formed in the lower portion of the valve body 4 and the stopper 4c is provided on the lower end surface of the small-diameter portion 4b. Can be sealed at the same time.
[0031]
After the inside of the container B is sealed, filling is performed in the same manner as in the case of the first type container A. The flow rate during filling is measured by the flow meter 10, and after a predetermined amount of filling is performed, the liquid valve 12 is closed to finish filling.
[0032]
In the above-described embodiment, when filling the second type container B, the container opening packing unit 2B is raised and the packing 32 is filled with the stopper 32c of the valve body 4 in contact. However, the container opening packing unit 2B is not necessarily always raised, but may be moved up and down freely and lowered by its own weight. In this case, the inside of the container B is sealed by pushing up the packing 32 by the opening Ba of the container B that has been lifted by the rising of the container plate 54, and pressing the upper surface of the packing 32 against the stopper 4 c of the valve body 4. Moreover, it cannot be overemphasized that the filling apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment is applicable not only to filling of carbonated drinks but the liquid which fills with the inside of a container sealed.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the filling liquid passage formed in the valve body, the liquid valve for opening and closing the filling liquid passage, the exhaust passage formed inside the liquid valve, and the valve body In a filling apparatus comprising a filling valve having a cylindrical raising and lowering member that is detachably fitted on the outer periphery, and a packing that is attached to the raising and lowering member and abuts against an upper end opening of a container filled with liquid. When filling the valve body with a large-diameter portion into which the elevating member is fitted and a small-diameter portion having a stopper at the lower end that is continuous below, and filling the first type container without the shoulder portion, An elevating member having a packing having a size passing through the outer periphery of the small-diameter portion of the valve body and a seal member for sealing between the outer periphery of the valve body is mounted, and the packing and the seal member are used to install the inside of the container. When sealing and filling a second type container having a shoulder, a lifting member attached with a packing capable of contacting the stopper of the valve body is mounted, and this packing is attached to the opening of the container and the valve body. Since the inside of the container is sealed by abutting, it can be reliably sealed with a simple structure for both the first type container and the second type container, and can be used for both types of containers. It is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a filling valve when a dual-purpose filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a first type container such as a top open can without a shoulder portion.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a filling valve when the dual-purpose filling device is applied to a bottle-type second-type container having a shoulder.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the operation of a container plate. FIG. 3A shows a case where the container plate is applied to a second type container, and FIG. 3B shows a case where the container plate is applied to a first type container.
[Explanation of symbols]
A 1st type container Aa 1st type container opening B 2nd type container Ba 2nd type container opening Bb 2nd type container shoulder 1 Filling valve 4 Valve body 4a Valve body large diameter part 4b Valve body 4c Valve body stopper 6 Filling liquid passage 10 Flow meter 12 Liquid valve 13 Exhaust passage 16 Driving means 32 Packing 34A for second type container Elevating member 34B for first type container Elevating member for second type container 36 Seal member 40 Packing for first type container

Claims (2)

A filling liquid passage formed in the valve body, a liquid valve that opens and closes the filling liquid passage, an exhaust passage formed inside the liquid valve, and a cylinder that is detachably fitted to the outer periphery of the valve body. In a filling apparatus comprising a filling valve having a cylindrical lifting member and a packing attached to the lifting member and abutting on the upper end opening of a container filled with liquid,
The valve body is formed with a large-diameter portion into which the elevating member is fitted, and a small-diameter portion having a stopper at the lower end that is continuous therebelow.
When filling the first type container having no shoulder portion, a packing having a size capable of passing through the outer periphery of the small-diameter portion of the valve body and a seal member for sealing between the outer periphery of the valve body were attached. Elevating member fitted with packing that can contact the stopper of the valve body when the inside of the container is sealed with the packing and the sealing member, and the second type container having the shoulder portion is filled. A dual-purpose filling device, wherein a member is mounted, and the inside of the container is sealed by bringing the packing into contact with the opening of the container and the valve body. The dual-use filling device according to claim 1, further comprising: a driving unit that opens and closes the liquid valve; and a flow meter that detects a filling amount flowing through the liquid valve.

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