JPH0678088B2 - Gas filling device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gas filling device for filling a filling liquid into a container, and more particularly to filling the inside of the container with the filling liquid in a sealed state. Gas filling device.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, as a gas filling device, a liquid valve that opens and closes a filling liquid passage that communicates between the inside of the filling liquid tank and the inside of the container, and a space filled with an inert gas in the upper portion of the filling liquid tank. A first gas valve for opening and closing an exhaust passage communicating with the inside of the container;
An escape valve that opens and closes a vacuum passage that communicates the inside of the container with a negative pressure source, a counter pressure valve that opens and closes a counter pressure passage that connects the inside of the container with a supply source of pure inert gas, and further inside the container. There is known a gas filling and filling device provided with a sniff valve which opens and closes a sniff passage for discharging the pressure to the outside (JP-A-61-93097).

In this gas filling device, first, the escape valve is opened and closed to discharge the air in the container to the outside, and then the first gas valve is opened to supply the inert gas in the upper part of the filling liquid tank into the container. Is filled with an inert gas and the pressure rises, the liquid valve is opened. Then, by opening the liquid valve, the container is filled with the filling liquid, and along with that, the inert gas in the container is discharged into the filling liquid tank.

Further, when the filling of the filling liquid into the container is completed in this way, the counter pressure valve is opened / closed to supply pure inert gas into the container, and a part of the pure inert gas is removed from the exhaust passage. After the gas is supplied into the filling liquid tank via the, the first gas valve and the liquid valve are closed, and the sniff valve is opened and closed to discharge the pressure in the container to the outside, thereby completing the gas filling and filling work.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional gas filling and filling device described above, the inert gas supplied into the container prior to filling the filling liquid is again filled in the filling liquid tank with the filling liquid. Since it can be collected in a small amount, it has the advantage of consuming less inert gas. However, even if the air inside the container is discharged to the outside by opening and closing the escape valve, the air is completely discharged from the container. That is, the concentration of the inert gas in the upper part of the filling liquid tank where the air is discharged by filling the filling liquid becomes smaller than the concentration of the pure inert gas, and the inert gas is supplied into the container. Since the filling liquid is filled in this state, air is likely to dissolve in the filling liquid.

"Means for Solving Problems" In view of such circumstances, the present invention prevents the air from dissolving in the filling liquid as much as possible, and at the same time, reduces the consumption of the inert gas as much as possible. The present invention provides a gas filling and filling device capable of performing the above.

That is, according to the present invention, in the gas filling and filling device having the above-described configuration, a gas passage that communicates the upper space in the filling liquid tank with the inside of the container is provided separately from the exhaust passage, and the gas passage is opened and closed. With 2 gas valves,
After the evacuation valve is opened and closed to discharge the air in the container, the second gas valve is opened and closed to supply the inert gas in the upper part of the filling liquid tank into the container, and then the evacuation valve is opened and closed again. When the inert gas in the container is discharged, the counter pressure valve is opened to supply the pure inert gas into the container, and further the first gas valve and the liquid valve are opened to fill the container with the filling liquid. The pure inert gas in the container is discharged into the filling liquid tank, and when the counter pressure valve, the first gas valve and the liquid valve are closed, the sniff valve is opened and closed.

“Operation” In this way, when the air in the container is discharged, the inert gas in the filling liquid tank is supplied into the container, the inert gas is discharged again, and then the pure inert gas is supplied into the container. Since the filling liquid is filled in the container in this state, it is possible to prevent air from being dissolved in the filling liquid as much as possible.

In addition, the inert gas supplied to the container from the filling liquid tank is discharged to the outside, and the pure inert gas supplied to the container is collected in the filling liquid tank as the filling liquid is filled. Therefore, despite the fact that the inert gas is supplied twice into the container, the consumption amount of the inert gas can be kept relatively small, and therefore the running cost can be reduced.

[Embodiment] The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 2, a rotary gas filling and filling device 1 includes a supply star wheel 2, a rotating body 3, and a discharge star wheel 4 which rotate in synchronization with each other. In addition, a crowner 5 that rotates in synchronism with the discharge star wheel 4 and a discharge star wheel 6 thereof are provided downstream of the discharge star wheel 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, a filling liquid tank 10 is provided above the rotating body 3. The filling liquid tank 10 stores a filling liquid such as a carbonated drink and the upper space thereof is filled with carbon dioxide gas. And the like is filled with an inert gas. Then, the filling valves are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the bottom of the filling liquid tank.
11 are provided.

The filling valve 11 includes a filling liquid passage 12 formed in a shaft portion and a valve stem 13 arranged so as to penetrate the filling liquid passage 12.
And a shaft portion of the valve stem 13 is used as an exhaust passage 14, and an inert gas supplied into the container 15 when the filling liquid is filled into the container 15 from the filling liquid passage 12 is filled with the filling liquid. It can be discharged into the tank 10.

A liquid valve 18 for opening and closing the filling liquid passage 12 is provided below the valve stem 13, and the valve stem 13 is provided.
A first gas valve 19 for opening and closing the exhaust passage 14 is provided at the upper end of the. The first gas valve 19 is interlocked with a cam lever 21 via an arm 20, and is normally urged downward by the arm 20 to resist the spring 22 and the first gas valve 19 is moved.
The exhaust passage 14 is closed by seating the valve body 23 of the valve seat 24 on the valve seat 24, and at the same time, the valve body 26 of the liquid valve 18 is seated on the valve seat 27 against the spring 25 to close the filling liquid passage 12 as well. There is.

Further, at the lower end opening of the filling liquid passage 12, there is provided a guide cone 30 which is attached to a rod (not shown) fixed to the bottom surface of the filling liquid tank 10 so as to be able to move up and down. A bottle packing 31 is attached to abut on the mouth portion and seal the inside thereof.

Further, a lifting table 32 is provided at a position below the filling valve 11.
By arranging and raising the elevating table 32 by a cam mechanism (not shown), the mouth portion of the container 15 supplied on the elevating table 32 can be crimped to the bottle mouth packing 31 to seal the inside of the container 15. I have to.

However, in the housing of the filling liquid tank 10, a gas passage 35 communicating with the upper space of the filling liquid tank 10, a counter pressure passage 36 communicating with a source of pure inert gas not shown, and a negative pressure not shown A vacuum passage 37 communicating with the source and a sniff passage 38 open to the atmosphere are formed.

The passages 35 to 38 are connected to the liquid valve 18 via a second gas valve 39, a counter pressure valve 40, an escape valve 41 and a sniff valve 42, which open and close the passages, and a passage 43 common to them. It communicates with the filling liquid passage 12 on the downstream side.

Each of the valves 39 to 42, the liquid valve 18 and the first gas valve 19 described above are adapted to be operated by engaging with a cam member (not shown). In the section A in FIG. Second gas valve 39 in section B
However, the escape valve 41 is again in the C section, the counter pressure valve 40 is in the D section, the liquid valve 18 and the first gas valve 19 are in the E section, and the sniff valve is further in the F section.
Each 42 is open.

In the above configuration, in the state before the start of filling, all the valves 18, 19, 39 to 42 described above are closed, and from this state, the container 15 is moved up and down by the supply star wheel 2 to the lifting table of the gas filling device 1. When placed on 32, the container 15 is raised by the elevating table 32 as the rotating body 3 rotates, so that the mouth of the container is pressed against the bottle packing 31 and sealed.

In this state, first, the escape valve 41 is opened in the section A, and the inside of the container 15 is communicated with the negative pressure source through the filling liquid passage 12, the passage 43 and the vacuum passage 37. Are sucked and discharged to the outside.

Next, when the escape valve 41 is closed, B
Since the second gas valve 39 is opened in the section, the inert gas in the filling liquid tank 10 is transferred to the container 15 via the gas passage 35.
Supplied within. At this time, if the first gas valve 19 is opened and the inert gas in the filling liquid tank 10 is supplied into the container 15, the liquid valve 18 will be opened when the pressure in the container 15 increases. 2nd separate from 1 gas valve 19
Since the inert gas in the filling liquid tank 10 is supplied into the container 15 by the gas valve 39, the liquid valve 18 will not be opened even if the pressure in the container 15 increases.

Further, when the second gas valve 39 is closed, the escape valve 41 is opened again in the section C.
The inert gas from the filling liquid tank 10 filled in the container 15 is discharged to the outside via the vacuum passage 37. When the escape valve 41 is closed, the counter pressure valve 40 is then opened in the section D, so that pure inert gas is supplied into the container 15 through the counter pressure passage 36. As a result, the inside of the container 15 that has passed the section D is in a state where the air is almost completely discharged and only the pure inert gas is filled.

In this way, when the container 15 is filled with pure inert gas, the counter pressure valve 40 is closed, and in the section E, the cam lever 21 engages with a cam member (not shown) to raise the tip of the arm 20. The gas valve 19 is opened by the elastic force of the spring 22. At this time, since the container 15 has already been filled with pure inert gas and the internal pressure has risen, the valve stem 13 is immediately opened by the elastic force of the spring 25 following the opening of the gas valve 19. The liquid valve 18 is raised and the liquid valve 18 is opened.

When the liquid valve 18 is opened, the filling liquid in the filling liquid tank 10 flows into the container 15 through the filling liquid passage 12, and at the same time, the pure inert gas filled in the container 15 is exhausted. Since it is discharged into the filling liquid tank 10 through the passage 14,
The inert gas in the filling liquid tank 10 maintains high purity.
And when a predetermined amount of filling liquid is filled in the container 15,
Since the cam lever 21 engages with a cam member (not shown) and returns to the original position, the gas valve 19 and the liquid valve 18 are closed.

In this state, in the above section F, the sniff valve 42
Is released and the pressure in the container 15 gradually escapes to the atmosphere via the sniff passage 38, so that the pressure in the container 15 is reduced to almost atmospheric pressure. After that, the elevating table 32 is lowered, and the container 15 separated from the bottle mouth packing 31 and completely filled is supplied into the next crowner 5 by the discharge star wheel 4, and the crower 5 immediately performs capping. Be done.

In the above embodiment, the liquid valve 18 and the first gas valve
Although the counter pressure valve 40 is closed before opening the counter valve 19, the counter pressure valve 40 can be continuously opened until the sniff valve 42 is opened. The supply pressure can be appropriately set in consideration of the concentration of the inert gas remaining in the container after the filling, the consumption amount of the inert gas, and the like.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the concentration of the inert gas in the container at the time of filling can be made almost pure, air is dissolved in the filling liquid at the time of filling. The inert gas supplied to the container from the filling liquid tank is discharged to the outside, and the pure inert gas supplied into the container is filled with the filling liquid tank. Since the concentration of the inert gas in the container can be made almost pure, the amount of the inert gas consumed can be kept small and therefore the running cost can be reduced. The effect that it can reduce is acquired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the entire apparatus. 10 …… filling liquid tank, 11 …… filling valve 12 …… filling liquid passage, 14 …… exhaust passage 15 …… container, 18 …… liquid valve 19 …… first gas valve, 35 …… gas passage 36 …… counter Pressure passage 37 …… Vacuum passage, 38 …… Snift passage 39 …… Second gas valve, 42 …… Snift valve 40 …… Counter pressure valve 41 …… Escape valve

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A liquid valve that opens and closes a filling liquid passage that connects the inside of the filling liquid tank and the inside of a container, and an exhaust passage that communicates between the space filled with an inert gas in the upper portion of the filling liquid tank and the inside of the container. A first gas valve that opens and closes, a vacuum valve that opens and closes a vacuum passage that communicates the inside of the container with a negative pressure source, and a counter pressure passage that opens and closes the container with a source of pure inert gas. In a gas filling and filling device equipped with a counter pressure valve and a sniff valve for opening and closing a sniff passage for discharging the pressure in the container to the outside, an upper space in a filling liquid tank and a container are provided separately from the exhaust passage. In addition to providing a communicating gas passage, a second gas valve for opening and closing this gas passage is provided, and the above-mentioned escape valve is opened and closed to discharge the air in the container. Then, the second gas valve is opened / closed to supply the inert gas in the upper part of the filling liquid tank into the container, and then the escape valve is opened / closed again to discharge the inert gas in the container. To supply pure inert gas into the container, and further to open the first gas valve and the liquid valve to fill the filling liquid into the container and discharge the pure inert gas from the container into the filling liquid tank. And a sniffing valve which is opened and closed when the counter pressure valve, the first gas valve and the liquid valve are closed.