JP6288415B2 - Filling equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling device that fills a container with a solid-containing content liquid, and more particularly, to a beverage filling device that fills a container with a beverage containing solids such as tapioca and sandbags.

  Conventionally, as a filling device that fills containers with content liquids containing solids such as tapioca and gizzards, a mixing tank with a stirrer that mixes raw materials and a solid content-containing liquid installed downstream of the mixing tank A heat sterilization apparatus that performs sterilization, a stirrer that is installed downstream of the heat sterilization apparatus and stirs the solid-containing content liquid, and a filling machine that is installed downstream of the stirrer and fills the container with the solid-containing content liquid. A filling device is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  As in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when filling the content liquid containing solids, in order to equalize the ratio of the amount of solids and content liquid filled in the container, In general, the solid-containing content liquid is stirred at the time of filling or the like to uniformly disperse the solid in the content liquid.

Japanese Patent No. 3847900

  However, in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a stirrer for stirring the solid-containing content liquid, and when the solid-containing content liquid is stirred at the time of filling the solid-containing content liquid, the filling port is easily clogged. Therefore, since it is necessary to provide means for preventing clogging, there is a problem that the filling apparatus becomes complicated and expensive.

  In addition, depending on the type of solid matter or content liquid, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the solid matter in the content liquid by stirring, and unevenness is likely to occur in the ratio of the amount of solid matter and content liquid filled in the container. There is also a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention solves these problems, and easily and surely uniforms the proportion of the amount of solid matter and content liquid filled in the container while simplifying the device structure and reducing the cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a filling device that can be converted into a solid state.

The present invention is a filling device that fills a container with a solid-containing content liquid, a filling tank that stores the solid-containing content liquid, and a solid tank of the solid-containing content liquid that is installed in the filling tank. A hopper that separates the solid content-containing content liquid from the solid-containing content liquid by allowing the content liquid to pass therethrough, and a solid material storage section in the hopper that is installed in the hopper. A shutter for partitioning openable and closable; a first on-off valve that opens and closes an outlet for solid matter stored in the solid matter storage portion of the hopper; and a solid tank that is connected to the filling tank from the hopper. a filling nozzle for filling solids content content liquid to be discharged through the use outlet to the vessel, by Ru with a solves the above problems.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the solid matter is separated from the content liquid in the filling tank by installing the separating means for separating the solid-containing content liquid into the solid and the content liquid in the filling tank. The amount of solids is adjusted in a state separated from the contents liquid, and stirring of the contents liquid containing the solids at the time of sterilization or filling becomes unnecessary, and the structure of the solids and contents liquid filled in the container is simplified. It becomes possible to make the ratio of the amount uniform easily and reliably.

According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to discharge the content liquid outside the hopper while storing the solid matter in the hopper by installing the hopper having the content liquid permeable portion in the filling tank. Therefore, separation of the solid matter and the content liquid and storage of the solid matter can be performed with a simple structure.
According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, by providing the first opening / closing valve that opens and closes the solid matter outlet of the hopper, and by providing the shutter that partitions the solid matter storage portion in the hopper vertically so as to be opened and closed, By opening the shutter in a state where the first on-off valve is closed, after the solid matter is stored in the region between the first on-off valve and the shutter, the shutter is closed and the first on-off valve is opened. Thus, a certain amount of solid matter can be reliably discharged from the solid matter outlet of the hopper.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first opening / closing valve is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat in the vertical direction, so that the first opening / closing valve closes the first outlet when the hopper is solid. By adjusting the vertical position of the open / close valve, it is possible to adjust the distance between the first open / close valve and the shutter, so the amount of solids discharged from the solid material outlet of the hopper can be easily reduced. Can be adjusted.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the amount of the solid-containing content liquid filled in the container can be easily quantified by adjusting the opening / closing of the second opening / closing valve provided on the outlet side of the reservoir. can do.
According to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the present invention, by providing the fluidizing means for fluidizing the solid matter stored in the hopper, the solid matter is integrated in the hopper and the fluidity of the solid matter is lowered. Can be avoided.

Explanatory drawing which shows the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the 1st process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the 4th process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the 5th process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the 6th process of the filling method using the filling apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the filling apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the filling apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Below, the filling apparatus 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS.

  First, the filling device 100 fills a container (not shown) with a beverage (content liquid L) containing a solid substance S such as tapioca or gizzard, and as shown in FIG. A filling tank 110 for storing the liquid, a filling nozzle 120 connected to the filling tank 110 for filling the container with the solid-containing content liquid SL, and a supply for supplying the filled and sterilized solid-containing content liquid SL to the filling tank 110 Part 130, hopper 140 installed in filling tank 110, first on-off valve 150 provided on the solid matter outlet side of hopper 140, and solid matter storage part in hopper 140 can be opened and closed And a second opening / closing valve 170 provided on the upstream side of the filling nozzle 120.

  Below, each component of the filling apparatus 100 is demonstrated mainly based on FIG.

  First, the hopper 140 is disposed at a lower position of the supply unit 130 that receives the supply of the solid-containing content liquid SL from the supply unit 130, and discharges the content liquid L to the outside while storing the solid substance S therein. Is. Specifically, the hopper 140 is made of a mesh material made of stainless steel or the like, and a plurality of through portions (not shown) having a size that does not allow the solid S to pass therethrough are formed on the entire surface thereof. In this embodiment, the entire surface of the hopper 140 functions as a content liquid permeable portion (not shown) that allows the content liquid L to pass therethrough. However, the content liquid permeable portion is provided only in a partial region such as a lower region of the hopper 140. May be.

  The first open / close valve 150 is driven by a first drive source 151 such as an air cylinder so as to be movable back and forth in the vertical direction, and opens and closes the solid material outlet side of the hopper 140.

  The shutter 160 is driven to rotate about a vertical axis by a motor (not shown) or the like, and is divided above and below the first opening / closing valve 150 so as to open and close the storage unit for solid objects in the hopper 140. is there.

  The second open / close valve 170 is driven by a second drive source 171 such as an air cylinder so as to advance and retract in the horizontal direction, and opens and closes the upstream side of the filling nozzle 120. The space on the upstream side of the second on-off valve 170 when the second on-off valve 170 is closed is the outer side of the hopper 140 in the filling tank 110 and the solid matter S discharged from the solid matter outlet of the hopper 140. It functions as the storage part 111 which stores the content liquid L which flowed in from the area.

  Next, a container filling method using the filling apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, in FIG. 2, the first on-off valve 150 and the second on-off valve 170 are closed, and the solid matter storage part in the hopper 140 is vertically divided by the shutter 160, and the solid matter is put in the hopper 140. The mode at the time of supplying the content liquid SL is shown. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the solid material S is stored in the region above the shutter 160 in the hopper 140 (strictly, together with a small amount of the content liquid L), and in the region outside the hopper 140 in the filling tank 110. The content liquid L is stored.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, by rotating the shutter 160, the shutter 160 is moved to the open position. Thereby, the partition by the shutter 160 is removed, and the solid material S falls on the first opening / closing valve 150.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the shutter 160 is rotated to move the shutter 160 to the closed position.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the first opening / closing valve 150 is opened, the solid S quantified by the region between the first opening / closing valve 150 and the shutter 160 enters the storage unit 111.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the second opening / closing valve 170 is opened, the solid substance S and the content liquid L stored in the storage unit 111 are discharged from the filling nozzle 120.
Here, when the first opening / closing valve 150 is opened, that is, when the first opening / closing valve 150 is moved downward, the upper surface 150a of the first opening / closing valve 150 is flush with the lower surface 111a of the reservoir 111. In addition, the upper surface 150a of the first opening / closing valve 150 and the lower surface 111a of the storage portion 111 are inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. Thus, when the second opening / closing valve 170 is opened, the solid matter S and the content liquid L stored in the storage unit 111 are smoothly guided toward the filling nozzle 120 side.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening / closing of the second opening / closing valve 170 is controlled by a timer, and the second opening / closing valve 170 is closed after a certain period of time since the opening of the second opening / closing valve 170. . Thereby, the amount of the solid-containing content liquid SL filled in the container is quantified.

  Next, a filling device 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the present embodiment, the configuration other than the fluidizing shafts 180 and 180 ′ is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the description of the components other than the fluidizing shafts 180 and 180 ′ is omitted.

  In the filling apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, as a fluidizing means for fluidizing the solid matter S stored in the hopper 140, a fluidizing shaft 180 provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Is provided. By moving the solid S stored in the hopper 140 by the fluidizing shaft 180, it is possible to avoid the solids S from being integrated in the hopper 140 and the fluidity of the solid S being lowered.

  The specific configuration of the fluidizing means is not limited to the above. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, as the fluidizing means, a fluidizing shaft that has spiral blades and is driven to rotate about the vertical axis. 180 'may be provided.

  In addition, in embodiment mentioned above, although the content liquid with which a container is filled was demonstrated as what is a drink, the kind of content liquid is not limited to a drink. Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, the isolation | separation means which isolate | separates a solid content liquid into a solid and a content liquid in the filling tank demonstrated as what was comprised from the mesh-shaped hopper. However, the specific configuration of the separating means is not limited to this, and for example, a mesh member provided separately from the hopper may be used as the separating means. Moreover, you may provide the pressurization means to pressurize the inside of a filling tank. In the above-described embodiment, one separation means (hopper) and one filling nozzle are installed for one filling tank. However, a plurality of separation means (hoppers) and a plurality of separation means (hoppers) are provided for one filling tank. You may install the filling nozzle. In the above-described embodiment, the first open / close valve and the shutter are used as the solid matter quantifying means for quantifying the amount of the solid matter discharged from the filling nozzle. The embodiment is not limited to this.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Filling device 110 ... Filling tank 111 ... Storage part 120 ... Filling nozzle 130 ... Supply part 140 ... Hopper (separation means)
150 ... 1st on-off valve (solid matter quantification means)
151... First driving source 160... Shutter (solid matter quantification means)
170 ... second on-off valve 171 ... second drive source 180, 180 '... fluidizing shaft (fluidizing means)
S ... Solid matter L ... Content liquid SL ... Solid content liquid

Claims (4)

A filling device for filling a container with a solid-containing content liquid,
A filling tank for storing the solid content liquid;
A hopper that is installed in the filling tank and separates the solids of the solid-containing content liquid from the solids-containing content liquid by passing the content liquid without passing through the solids of the solid-containing content liquid; ,
A shutter installed in the hopper and partitioning the solid matter storage section in the hopper so as to be opened and closed;
A first on-off valve that opens and closes an outlet for solid matter stored in the solid matter storage portion of the hopper;
Which is connected to the filling tank, a filling nozzle for filling a solids content content liquid discharged from the hopper through the outlet for the solid material to the vessel,
Filling apparatus characterized by Ru with a. The first on-off valve, filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that is provided to be moved in the first direction. A storage part for storing solid matter discharged from the hopper and a content liquid flowing from an outer region of the hopper in the filling tank and a outlet for opening and closing the outlet of the storage part downstream of the first opening / closing valve . filling device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a second opening and closing valves, the. Filling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a fluidizing means for fluidizing the solids stored within the hopper.

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