JP5221275B2 - Adjusting device for filling valve - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an adjustment device for a filling valve that fills individual containers (eg, cans) with a liquid (eg, beer) contained in a filler bowl (tank).

FIG. 4 shows a part of the filler bowl and a filling valve attached thereto. As shown in the drawing, the filler bowl 10 has a bottom lid 11, a canopy 12, and a peripheral wall 13 that connects the periphery of the bottom lid 11, a filling liquid (see FIG. (Not shown) is housed. Further, the space above the surface of the filling liquid is filled with carbon dioxide gas (not shown) at a predetermined pressure (for example, 2 kg / cm ² ).

  The filling valve 15 has a hollow cylindrical housing 16 arranged in the vertical direction. The housing 16 has a lower housing 17 and an upper housing 18. The lower housing 17 includes a hollow cylindrical lower housing main body 19 and a rectangular fixing portion 20 that is integrally formed with the lower housing main body 19 and protrudes outward from the periphery thereof. The upper housing 18 has an upper housing body 21 made of a hollow cylindrical body having a smaller diameter than the lower housing body 19 of the lower housing 17, and a lower end portion of the upper housing body 21 is inserted into the upper portion of the upper housing body 21 to be coaxial. Fixed. A pressure cap 22 is attached to the upper end of the upper housing main body 21, and the pressure cap 22 is regulated in a state where it is urged to a raised position shown in the figure by a spring 23 disposed on the outer periphery of the upper housing main body 21.

  A hollow cylindrical vent tube 24 is simultaneously disposed at the center of the lower housing body 19 and the upper housing body 21. The vent tube 24 includes an annular liquid seal 25 on the outer periphery of its upper end. The liquid seal 25 has a female screw (not shown) formed at the center of the liquid seal 25 and a male screw (not shown) formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the vent tube 24, so that the height relative to the vent tube 24 is increased. Can be adjusted. The vent tube 24 is provided with a tightening nut 26 for fixing the liquid seal 25 whose height is adjusted with respect to the vent tube 24. On the other hand, the vent tube 24 is provided with a valve made of a ball 27 inside the lower end thereof, so that the internal passage (gas passage) of the vent tube 24 is opened and closed as the ball 27 descends and rises. It has become.

  The vent tube 24 includes an annular regulating member 28 that is disposed near the upper end of the lower housing 17 and is fixed to the outer periphery of the vent tube 24. On the other hand, a guide space 29 is formed in the upper part of the lower housing body 19 to accommodate the annular restricting member 28 so as to be movable by a predetermined distance in the central axis direction of the filling valve 15. Therefore, the vent tube 24 can move up and down with the annular restricting member 28 by the predetermined distance (between the raised position in FIG. 4 and the lowered position in FIG. 5) with respect to the housing 16. The vent tube 24 also includes a stopper 30 fixed to the vent tube 24 inside the upper housing body 21. Above the stopper 30, a spacer ring 31 is externally attached to the vent tube 24 so as to be movable in the central axis direction. In the space between the upper housing body 21 and the vent tube 24, an upper spring 32 is disposed between the upper end of the upper housing body 21 and the spacer ring 31, and the lower spring 34 is interposed between the spacer ring 31 and the stopper 30. Is arranged. The vent tube 24 is held in the lowered position shown in FIG. 5 in a free state by the urging force of the upper and lower springs 33 and 34.

  Between the lower housing body 19 and the lower portion of the vent tube accommodated therein, a hollow cylindrical valve insert 34 is simultaneously sheathed on the vent tube 24. The valve insert 34 is movable in the central axis direction of the filling valve 15, can move up and down between the raised position shown in FIG. 4 and the lowered position shown in FIG. 5, and the vent tube 24 is in the raised position shown in FIG. 4. Is in the raised position, and when the vent tube 24 moves from the raised position in FIG. 4 to the lowered position in FIG. 5, it moves from the raised position to the lowered position in FIG. A liquid cone 35 is disposed outside the valve insert 34 and is fixed to the lower end of the lower housing body 19.

  The lower end portion of the valve insert 34 and the lower end portion of the liquid cone 35 constitute a valve 38 that opens and closes an annular flow path 36 formed between the lower housing body 19 and the vent tube 24 with respect to the external space 37. The valve 38 is closed when the valve insert 34 is in the raised position shown in FIG. 4, and the valve 38 is open when the valve insert 34 is in the lowered position shown in FIG.

  A hollow cylindrical centering tube 39 is provided on the outer periphery of the lower housing body 19. The centering tube 39 is movable in the central axis direction between a raised position shown in FIG. 4 and a lowered position shown in FIG.

  A gas flow path 40 extending in parallel with the central axis is formed in the lower housing body 19, and the lower end of the gas flow path 40 is opened inside the centering tube 39, and the upper end of the gas flow path 40 is connected to the sniff valve 41. It is connected.

  The filling valve 15 having the above configuration is detachably mounted on the filler bowl 10 as shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 4 shows the state of the filling valve 15 before liquid filling. In this state, the vent tube 24 is in the raised position, and the liquid seal 25, particularly the upper annular seal portion thereof, is in the filler bowl canopy 12. It is in close contact. This close contact state is maintained by the pressure of the gas in the liquid storage chamber 14 of the filler bowl 10.

  At the time of liquid filling, the centering tube 39 is lowered from the raised position shown in FIG. 4 to the lowered position shown in FIG. 5, and the lower end of the centering tube 39 comes into contact with the upper end of the container (here, can, but not shown). And seal. Next, the sniffer valve 41 is opened, and in this state, carbon dioxide gas is supplied into the container through the vent tube 24 from the gas flow path 42 provided in the canopy 12 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the air in the container is exhausted from the gas flow path 40 via the snift valve 41, and the space in the container is replaced with carbon dioxide gas. After a predetermined time, the sniff valve 41 is closed. As a result, the internal pressure of the vent tube 24 rises, and when the internal pressure becomes equal to or higher than the gas pressure in the filler bowl 10, the vent tube 24 is lowered to the lowered position shown in FIG. . As a result, the valve insert 34 is lowered by its own weight, the valve 38 is opened, and the internal space (gas space) of the filler bowl 10 passes through the annular flow path 36 between the lower housing body 19 and the vent tube 24. It communicates with the inside. As a result, the liquid contained in the filler bowl 10 is filled into the container from the annular flow path 36 through the valve 38. Along with the filling of the liquid, the carbon dioxide gas filled in the container is discharged to the liquid storage chamber (gas space) of the filler bowl 10 through the vent tube 24. Then, when the liquid level in the container rises to near the upper end of the container, the ball 27 rises and seals the lower end of the vent tube 24. Thereby, the supply of the liquid is also stopped.

  In the filling valve 15 that operates as described above, it is necessary to accurately adjust the height of the liquid seal 25 with respect to the housing 16, for example, the distance H (see FIG. 5) from the housing fixing portion 20 to the top of the liquid seal 25. It is. The reason is that if the liquid seal 25 is lower than the proper position, the gap between the liquid seal 25 and the filler bowl canopy 12 is not sufficiently sealed, and conversely if the liquid seal 25 is too higher than the proper position, the liquid seal 25 25, the elastic recovery force of the rubber constituting 25 is also added, and when the internal pressure of the vent tube 24 becomes equal to the internal pressure of the filler bowl 10, the separation speed becomes remarkably high. This is because the impact received by the housing 24 from the housing 16 is increased, and the contact surfaces of both may be damaged.

  Therefore, conventionally, a scale or reference rod of a predetermined length is set up beside the filling valve 15 and one operator holds the vent tube 24 in the raised position, and another operator sets the height of the liquid seal to the scale or reference. Adjustment to the target position of the stick was performed. However, such conventional methods require at least two operators.

  Therefore, the present invention was made for the purpose of providing a device that can easily adjust the height of the liquid seal by one operator, the adjustment device comprising a base that holds the housing of the filling valve, Holding means for holding the vent tube of the filling valve held on the base in the raised position against the biasing force of the spring, and an appropriate reference height of the vent tube attached to the filling valve and held in the raised position Indicating means for indicating;

  According to the adjustment device of the present invention configured as described above, the liquid seal can be set to an appropriate position using the instruction means provided on the base while the vent tube is held at the raised position by the holding means. The liquid seal can be set to an appropriate position with respect to the valve housing. Further, the adjustment work can be efficiently performed by one operator.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3, the adjusting device 50 for a filling valve according to the present invention has a base 51. The base 51 includes four legs 52 arranged symmetrically, and an upper table 53 and a lower table 54 supported by these legs 52.

  In particular, referring to FIG. 3, the upper table 53 has a pair of restricting portions 55 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction. The restricting portion 55 has a substantially L-shaped cross section and is arranged symmetrically with the L-shaped inner surface facing each other, and the filling valve 15 is fixed in a rectangular shape in the accommodating space 56 between the facing L-shaped inner surfaces. The part 20 can be inserted. The table portion between the restricting portions 55 is cut away, and an opening 57 extending from one end side of the restricting portion 55 toward the opposite side is formed. Note that the width of the accommodation space 56 is set to be approximately the same as the corresponding width of the fixed portion 20. Therefore, the fixed portion 20 and the filling valve 15 inserted in the accommodation space 56 between the restricting portions 55 are accurately positioned with respect to the base 51.

  Preferably, the height of the lower table 54 (interval with the upper table 53) is such that the filling valve 15 is mounted on the upper table 53 as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). The lower table 54 supports the protective cover 43 (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 4) attached to the bottom of the 15.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, a fixing mechanism 57 for fixing the fixing portion 20 of the filling valve 15 mounted on the base 51 to the base 51 is provided on one side of the upper table 53 (on the right side in the figure). It is. In the embodiment, a snap handle type fixing mechanism using a spring is used, but a simple combination of a bolt and a nut may be used.

  A holding mechanism (holding means) 58 that holds the vent tube 24 of the filling valve 15 fixed to the upper table 53 in the raised position is provided on the opposite side of the upper table 53 (left side in the drawing). The holding mechanism 58 of the embodiment includes a support base 59 fixed to the upper table 53, a cam plate 60 to be engaged with the vent tube 24, and a bolt 61 that fixes the cam plate 60 to the support base 59. The support base 59 has a screw hole 62 into which the bolt 61 is screwed. The cam plate 60 is made of a substantially rectangular plate, has a long hole 63 into which a bolt 61 can be inserted on one end side, and has a fork portion 64 made of two parallel protrusions on the other end side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a hole 65 is formed in the fixing portion 20 of the filling valve 15, and a height adjusting rod 66 of the liquid seal 25 is inserted and fixed therein. The height adjusting rod 66 includes a protrusion (means for instructing an appropriate reference height) 67 protruding in the lateral direction in the vicinity of the upper end. The height of the protrusion 67, specifically, the distance h from the upper surface of the fixed portion 20 to the upper end surface (reference surface) 68 of the protrusion in a state where the height adjusting rod 66 is fixed to the fixed portion 20, is as shown in FIG. In addition, the height is set to be equal to the height H ′ from the upper surface of the fixed portion to the lower end surface of the liquid seal when the liquid seal 25 is in contact with the canopy 12.

  The use of the adjustment device 50 configured as described above will be described. First, the filling valve 15 removed from the filler bowl 10 is fixed to the base 51. At this time, the fixing portion 20 of the filling valve 15 is inserted into the accommodating portion 56 between the restriction portions 55 of the base 51, and the filling valve 15 is fixed to the base 51 by the fixing mechanism 57. Next, with the bolt 61 inserted into the long hole 63 of the cam plate 60, the bolt 61 is screwed into the screw hole 62 of the support base 59. At this stage, the bolt 61 is not tightened, and the cam plate 60 is allowed to move freely in an arbitrary direction. Next, the liquid seal 25 and the vent tube 24 are lifted against the urging force of the spring 33 (see FIG. 4), and a side opening 69 formed in the lower housing body 19 of the filling valve 15 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). ), The fork portion 64 of the cam plate 60 is inserted under the annular restricting member 28 (the fork portion 64 is indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 4). When the force applied to the liquid seal 25 and the vent tube 24 is released in this state, the liquid seal 25 and the vent tube 24 are lowered by the force of the spring 33 (see FIG. 4). Further, the fork portion 64 is also slightly lowered from the position shown in FIG. However, the fork portion 64 remains below the annular restricting member 28. Next, the bolt 61 is tightened. Thereby, one end side of the cam plate 60 is pressed against the upper surface of the support base 59, and the fork portion 64 on the other end side of the cam plate 60 lifts the annular restricting member 28 so that the liquid seal 25 and the vent tube 24 are positioned at the raised position. Let Next, the adjustment rod 66 is attached to the fixed portion 20. Then, the height of the liquid seal 25 is adjusted based on the height of the upper end surface 68 of the protrusion 67. At this time, the tightening nut 26 is loosened, the height of the liquid seal 25 is adjusted while rotating the liquid seal 25 with respect to the vent tube 24, and after the adjustment, the tightening nut 26 is tightened to fix the liquid seal 25. When the height adjustment of the liquid seal 25 is completed, the filling valve 15 is removed from the base 51 by performing the reverse procedure of the above-described procedure.

  As described above, according to the adjusting device of the present invention, the height of the liquid seal can be adjusted easily and easily by one operator.

The front view and side view of the adjustment apparatus which concern on this invention. The top view of the adjustment apparatus which concerns on this invention. The disassembled perspective view of the adjustment apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing of the filling valve attached to the filler bowl. Sectional drawing of a filling valve.

Explanation of symbols

10: Filler bowl 11: Bottom lid 12: Canopy 13: Perimeter wall 14: Liquid storage chamber 15: Filling valve 16: Housing 17: Lower housing 18: Upper housing 19: Lower housing body 20: Fixed portion 21: Upper housing body 22: Pressure cap 23: Spring 24: Vent tube 25: Liquid seal 26: Nut 27: Ball 28: Annular regulating member 29: Guide space 30: Stopper 31: Spacer ring 32: Upper spring 33: Lower spring 34: Valve insert 35: Liquid Cone 36: Annular channel 37: External space 38: Valve 39: Centering tube 40: Gas channel 41: Snift valve 42: Gas channel 43: Protective cover 50: Adjustment device 51: Base 52: Leg 53: Upper table 54 : Lower table 55: Restricting part 56: Storage space 57 : Fixing mechanism 58: Holding mechanism 59: Support base 60: Cam plate 61: Bolt 62: Screw hole 63: Long hole 64: Fork part 65: Hole 66: Adjustment rod 67: Projection 68: Projection upper end surface 69: Side part opening Part

Claims (1)

An adjustment device for a filling valve that is detachably attached to a filler bowl,
The filling valve includes a cylindrical housing arranged in the vertical direction, a vent tube arranged in the cylindrical housing so as to be movable up and down between an ascending position and a descending position, and the vent tube at the descending position. And a liquid seal that is attached to the upper end of the vent tube and that contacts the canopy of the filler ball when the vent tube is in the raised position while being attached to the filler ball. And
The adjusting device is
A base for holding the housing of the filling valve;
Holding means for holding the vent tube of the filling valve held on the base in the raised position against the biasing force of the spring;
An adjusting device for a filling valve, comprising: an indicating means attached to the filling valve and indicating an appropriate reference height of the vent tube held at the raised position.

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