JP5232567B2 - Filling valve device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling device that fills a beverage liquid, such as a PET bottle, a bottle can, etc., in which a carbon dioxide back pressure is applied in a liquid storage tank such as a carbonated drink. The present invention relates to a structure of a filling valve capable of sealing.

  When filling carbonated beverages with a conventional filling valve, the container is filled with gas pressure so that the carbon dioxide dissolved in the beverage does not foam and escape during filling. In order to seal, it is common to seal the seal packing by pressing it against the mouth of the container.

  The conventional carbonated beverage filling apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 has a packing provided at the lower end of an outer cylindrical chamber integral with a filling valve so that the container mouth does not directly contact the filling nozzle. It is a hygiene-oriented method that seals by pressing against the top surface.

  Further, in the conventional example shown in Patent Document 2, a ring-shaped packing that swells inward is fitted into a ring-shaped groove provided on the inner cylinder side of the outer cylinder of the filling valve, and when the container is taken in, air pressure is applied to the inner side. The container body is inflated to tighten and seal the body of the container.

The conventional example shown in Patent Document 3 is a system in which a packing provided at the lower end of an outer cylindrical chamber integral with a filling valve is pressed against the conical surface of the upper body portion of the container for sealing.
Japanese Patent No. 2856057 (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-98803 (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-98894 (FIG. 2)

  The conventional sealing method of the container mouth requires a large pressing force that can seal the inside of the container even at the maximum pressure of the carbonated beverage. Therefore, there is a problem that the life of the seal packing is shortened with a flexible material. The neck ring seal method of the plastic container of Patent Document 1 requires a seal packing that is large enough to be able to seal even at the maximum pressure of carbonated beverages. Therefore, since the sealing force is large, the life of the seal packing is shortened. There is a problem.

Further, the method of inflating the ring-shaped air tube to the inside in the container body portion of the filling valve device shown in Patent Document 2 is difficult to apply to a container whose body portion has a non-circular cross section or a container having uneven surfaces. There is a drawback that the structure is complicated and the cost is high.
Further, the method of pressing the seal packing at the lower end of the outer cylinder integral with the filling valve shown in Patent Document 3 against the conical surface of the upper body of the container increases the seal packing, and seals even at the maximum pressure of carbonated beverages. As much pressure as possible is required and the sealing force is large, there is a problem that the life of the seal packing is shortened.
An object of the present invention is to provide a filling valve device having a container seal structure that is simple in structure and does not apply a large pressing force to the seal packing.

With respect to the above problems, the present invention aims to solve the problems by the following means.
(1) The filling valve device of the first means includes a container holding means and a filling valve provided with a ring seal packing for container sealing, and the container holding means holding an empty container is relative to the filling valve. In the filling valve device for filling the beverage containing carbon dioxide gas by making the seal seal of the filling valve abut on the container mouth , neck ring part , or conical part of the container body by moving vertically up and down,
The seal packing, a lip shape toward the its cross-sectional shape on the inside, the inside inner peripheral lip shape to have a flexibility in the longitudinal direction of the filling valve, inside the container opening of the seal packing during beverage filling , neck ring portions, or, is brought into contact with the conical portion of the container body, by the gas pressure of the carbon dioxide is added during the filling of the carbon dioxide-containing drinks, the container opening, the neck ring section or the container body cone A sealing force is applied between the portion and the seal packing.

(2) The filling valve device of the second means is the filling valve device of the above (1 ), wherein the outer frame of the ring seal packing for container seal is made flexible as a U-shaped cross section with the inner side open, at the same time it is a way to push easily fitted into the groove crowded fit seal packing of the filling valve, characterized that you hold the sealing force between the ring-shaped seal packing and filling valve by the action of gas pressure.

  The invention according to claim 1 and claim 2 is the filling valve device of the first and second means described above, wherein the seal packing is provided in the mouth portion of the container, the neck ring portion, or the container body cone portion. Since the amount of deformation and force when abutting is small and the back pressure (gas pressure) of the gas beverage is applied, a sufficient sealing force proportional to the beverage gas pressure can be obtained, so the durability life is long and the structure is simple. So the cost is cheap.

  The invention according to claim 3 is such that the above-mentioned seal packing is flexible and can be easily fitted into the seal fitting groove without dividing the filling valve for attaching the seal packing. Since the sealing force between the filling valve and the ring-shaped packing can be maintained by the action of pressure, not only the sealing packing but also the structure of the fitting groove of the filling valve is simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, an explanation will be given of an example in which a beverage containing carbon dioxide (hereinafter referred to as a carbonated beverage) is a PET bottle with a neck ring or a bottle can without a neck ring.

(First embodiment)
An outline of a filling valve device in which the container port seal of the present invention is used and a container port seal of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an outline of a filling valve device according to an embodiment, and shows one section of a filling valve of a multi-stage rotary filling machine. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the container mouth seal and the periphery of the container mouth according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the container mouth sealing action.

  In the figure, a beverage passage 12 for supplying carbonated beverages is connected to the valve body 17 of the filling valve 11, gas passages 37a and 37b for supplying carbon dioxide gas to a gas passage 17b in the valve body 17, and a gas return passage 37c. Are connected. A container port seal 43 is attached to the lower cylindrical portion of the valve body 17 by a nut 19. Further, the beverage passage 12 is provided with a flow meter 26 that measures the filling amount of the carbonated beverage and a flow rate switching valve 27 that can adjust the flow rate in two stages in order to accurately measure the liquid amount.

  An air cylinder 22 is attached to the upper part of the valve body 17, and a liquid valve 18 is directly connected to a drive rod of the air cylinder 22. When the air cylinder 22 is driven in the vertical direction by switching the working air at the switching valve 24, the liquid valve 18 moves and opens and closes the beverage liquid passage 17a. The seal packing 15 is a seal packing for the liquid valve 18.

  The other of the gas passages 37a and 37b coupled to the gas passage 17b of the valve body 17 and the gas return passage 37c is coupled to the switching valve body 31. (In the case of a rotary filling machine, this switching valve body 31 has a triple layer. It has a ring shape with a ring-shaped gas passage). Solenoid valves 34 a, 34 b, 34 c are attached to the valve body 17.

  Before the PET bottle 8 is placed at a predetermined position of the filling valve 11 and the filling of the carbonated beverage is started, the electromagnetic valve 34a is opened and low-pressure carbon dioxide gas is sent to the PET bottle 8 through the gas passage 17b of the valve body 17, The electromagnetic valve 34c is opened to pass through the gas return passage 37c, and the air in the PET bottle 8 is replaced with low-pressure carbon dioxide. Immediately before beverage filling, the electromagnetic valve 34a is closed, the electromagnetic valve 34c is closed and the gas return passage 37c is closed, and the electromagnetic valve 34b is opened to fill the PET bottle 8 with carbon dioxide having the same pressure as the back pressure of the carbonated beverage. The liquid valve 18 is opened and replaced with carbon dioxide gas to fill the bottle 8 with a set amount of beverage. When the filling is completed, the air cylinder 22 is operated to close the liquid valve 18, the electromagnetic valve 34 b is closed, and the electromagnetic valve 34 c is opened. The gas in the bottle 8 is sniffed through the gas return passage 37c to lower the pressure, the PET bottle 8 is lowered, and the filling valve 11 is opened.

  The container raising / lowering means 35 provided for each filling valve 11 includes a gripper 41 that holds the PET bottle 8 on the lower surface of the neck ring 8a, and a container raising / lowering cam 36 that raises and lowers the gripper 41, and the gripper 41 is an empty PET bottle. 8, the container elevating means 35 moves the gripper 41 up and down relatively with respect to the filling valve 11, so that the container mouth seal 43 below the filling valve 11 contacts the upper surface of the neck ring 8 a of the PET bottle 8. Gas seal.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape of the container mouth seal 43 is a lip shape facing inward, and flexibility is provided in the longitudinal direction of the filling valve 11 on the inner inner periphery. As shown, the inner side of the container mouth seal 43 is curved in contact with the neck ring 8a, and the gas pressure applied at the time of filling is directly used as the sealing force of the container mouth seal 43. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply a pressing force for sealing from the filling valve 11 to the neck ring 8a of the PET bottle 8, and neither the gripper 41 nor the container lifting / lowering means 35 needs a force other than the force for supporting the PET bottle 8 during the filling process. Absent.

(Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, the place where the PET bottle 8 and the filling valve 11 are sealed is the mouth of the PET bottle 8, and the configuration other than this point is the same as in the first embodiment. Different parts from the first embodiment will be described, and the same configuration will be omitted. The configuration and operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a side sectional view showing the container mouth seal and the periphery of the container mouth, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the container mouth sealing action in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows that the PET bottle 8 is in a set position just below the filling valve 11. FIG. 5 shows that the PET bottle 8 is raised and in the carbonated beverage filling position. The gripper 41 holds the empty PET bottle 8, and the container elevating means 35 moves the gripper 41 up and down relatively with respect to the filling valve 11, so that the container opening seal 44 below the filling valve 11 is attached to the PET bottle 8. A gas seal is brought into contact with the upper surface 8b of the mouth. Reference numeral 21 denotes a nut for attaching the container port seal 44.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the container mouth seal 44 is a lip shape facing inward, and flexibility is provided in the longitudinal direction of the filling valve 11 on the inner inner periphery. As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the container mouth seal 44 is in contact with the upper surface 8b of the mouth of the PET bottle 8 and curves, and the gas pressure applied during filling directly becomes the sealing force of the container mouth seal 44 against the PET bottle 8. Yes. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply a pressing force for sealing from the filling valve 11 to the upper surface 8b of the mouth portion of the PET bottle 8, and neither the gripper 41 nor the container lifting / lowering means 35 has a force other than the force that supports the PET bottle 8 during the filling process. Is not necessary.

(Third embodiment)
This embodiment can be applied to a bottle can 28 having no neck ring as a container to be handled. The place where the bottle can 28 and the filling valve 11 are sealed is the conical portion of the container body of the bottle can 28, and since there is no neck ring, the bottle can 28 is not held or handled under the filling valve 11 for illustration. A star wheel, a fixed container guide, etc. are required, and the container lift 38 pushes up the bottom of the bottle can 28. The configuration around the filling valve 11 other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), and description of portions other than the different configuration is omitted. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing the container seal, the vicinity of the container opening, and the container seal function.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the container seal 45 has an axially flexible inner rim as an inward lip shape, and the inside of the container seal 45 abuts against the conical portion 28a of the bottle can 28 when filling a beverage, A sealing force is applied to the container seal 45 by the gas pressure applied at the time of filling. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply a pressing force for sealing from the filling valve 11 to the bottle can 28, and no force other than the force for supporting the bottle can 28 during the filling process is also required for the container lift 38. Reference numeral 58 denotes a nut for attaching the container seal 45.

(Fourth embodiment)
The container seal 46 of the present embodiment can be used in place of the container port seals 43 and 44 and the container seal 45 used in the first to third embodiments. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing the shape of the container mouth seal, and FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing the container mouth sealing action in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the outer frame of the ring-shaped container seal 46 has flexibility as a U-shaped cross section with the inner side open, and the first to third embodiments described above are used to attach the container seal 46. Even if the valve body 17 is not divided, the valve body 51 (integrated with the valve body 17 and the nut 19, 21 or 58 for attaching the container seal) is easily fitted into the fitting groove 51 a of the container seal 46. At the same time, the sealing force between the valve body 51 and the container seal 46 due to the action of the gas pressure, and further the gas pressure pushes the U-shaped cross section of the container seal 46, so that the sealing force between the container seal 46 and the valve body 51 is Can be held.

It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the outline of the filling valve apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container port seal concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and a container port periphery. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container port sealing effect | action in FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container port seal concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a container port periphery. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container port sealing effect | action in FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container seal concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, a container opening periphery, and a container seal effect | action. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the shape of the container port seal concerning the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the container port sealing effect | action in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

8 ... PET bottle,
8a ... Neck ring,
8b ... top surface,
11 ... Filling valve,
17, 51 ... valve body,
18 ... Liquid valve,
28 ... bottle cans,
28a ... Conical part,
41 ... Gripper,
43, 44 ... container mouth seal,
45, 46 ... Container seal,
51a ... Fitting groove

Claims (2)

The container holding means and a filling valve equipped with a ring-shaped seal packing for container sealing, and the container holding means holding the empty container moves up and down relative to the filling valve, so that the container mouth and neck ring Or a filling valve device for filling a carbon dioxide-containing beverage with a gas seal by bringing the seal packing of the filling valve into contact with the conical portion of the container body ,
The seal packing, a lip shape toward the its cross-sectional shape on the inside, the inside inner peripheral lip shape to have a flexibility in the longitudinal direction of the filling valve, inside the container opening of the seal packing during beverage filling , neck ring portions, or, is brought into contact with the conical portion of the container body, by the gas pressure of the carbon dioxide is added during the filling of the carbon dioxide-containing drinks, the container opening, the neck ring section or the container body cone A filling valve device in which a sealing force is applied between the portion and the seal packing. 2. The filling valve device according to claim 1, wherein the outer frame of the ring seal packing for container sealing has a U-shaped cross section with an open inside and is easily fitted in the groove for fitting the seal packing of the filling valve. At the same time, the filling valve device can hold the sealing force between the filling valve and the ring-shaped seal packing by the action of gas pressure.

Images