JPH08198205A - Apparatus for filling liquidlike substance - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To eliminate scoring of three-way valve to improve discharge accuracy by constituting the three-way valve which is alternately connected to a suction port or a discharge port of an elastic valve of a truncated cone shape directing fore and at along a moving direction and a switch driving means for driving a valve rod in an axial direction via a plug-fit joint. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for filling a liquidlike substance for filling a liquidlike substance such as juice or milk into a bag, a container or the like sucks the liquidlike substance in a reservoir via a suction hose and a directional control three-way valve and discharges via a constant amount measuring device and a discharge hose from a filling nozzle for filling. The three-way valve 23 couples an elastic valve 27 having truncated-cone-shaped valve seat contacts 27a, 27b at both sides to a front end of a valve rod 28 having a circular locking groove 28a formed at a rear end. By driving the elastic valve 27 in an axial direction by operation of a switching cylinder 30, a suction/dishcarge port 32 is switched to be connected to a suction port 33 or a discharge port 34 by cooperation with valve seats 31a, 31b provided in a valve body 35.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid material filling device for filling liquid materials such as juice and milk into bags and containers, and more particularly, to a liquid material having a relatively low viscosity from room temperature to high temperature. The present invention relates to a liquid material filling device suitable for quantitative filling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional liquid material filling device has a storage tank 1 for liquid material A, a suction hose 2, a rotary type three-way switching valve 3, a metering device 4, a discharge hose 5, and a filling nozzle 6. Etc. The three-way switching valve 3 has a valve body 7 having three fluid inlets and outlets (ports), a rotor 8 having three through holes, and a rotor 8 that rotates in the valve body 7, and the rotor 8 is rotated to switch the valve. The metering device 4 comprises a fluid pressure cylinder 9, a metering cylinder 10, a plunger piston 11 built in the metering cylinder 10, a piston rod 1.
2 and a crank type driving means 13. A plug rod 14 that moves up and down (stroke S ₁ ) to open or close the nozzle port of the filling nozzle 6 is fitted to the filling nozzle 6, and the horizontally oriented port 3a of the three-way switching valve 3 is a suction hose. 2, the downward port 3b communicates with the metering cylinder 10, and the upward port 3c communicates with the discharge hose 5. In addition, 17 is a mount.

The filling operation using the above apparatus will be described below.
First, the fluid pressure cylinder 9 rotates the rotor 8 to connect the ports 3a and 3b to each other, and the driving means 13 lowers the plunger piston 11 (arrow a) to suck a fixed amount of the liquid A from the storage tank 1. It is taken into the metering cylinder 10 through the 2 and 3-way switching valve 3 (state of FIG. 4). At this time, the stopper rod 14 descends and closes the nozzle opening of the filling nozzle 6.

Next, the rotor 8 is moved by the fluid pressure cylinder 9.
Is rotated 90 ° in the direction of arrow c and port 3b and port 3c
And the plunger piston 11 is raised (arrow b), and at the same time, the stopper rod 14 is raised so that the metering cylinder 10
The liquid inside is filled into the bag 15 through the three-way switching valve 3, the discharge hose 5, and the filling nozzle 6. At the same time when the plunger piston 11 is fully raised to complete the filling, the stopper rod 14 is lowered to close the nozzle opening of the filling nozzle 6. In addition,
For example, the bag 15 is grasped by grasping claws 16 provided at a plurality of positions on the outer peripheral edge of the table which rotates intermittently (see, for example, JP-A-4-4371), and brought directly below the filling nozzle 6 at a predetermined timing. Is.

The conventional filling device described above continuously performs the filling operation with the above steps as one cycle. Further, as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-40882, the stroke (R × 2) of the plunger piston 8 is changed by adjusting the eccentricity R of the connecting position of the piston rod 12 with respect to the crank type driving means 13. It is also possible to adjust the filling amount.

[0006]

By the way, the rotary type three-way switching valve 3 is switched every time suction or discharge is performed into the metering cylinder 10 in order to change the flow of the liquid substance, so that the valve main body 7 is changed. The inner surface and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 8 are frequently repeatedly slid (30 to 40 times / minute). The valve body 7 and the rotor 8 are generally made of an austenitic stainless steel material in consideration of food hygiene and corrosion resistance.

Therefore, in the case of a liquid substance having a high liquid temperature,
The fitting gap between the valve body 7 and the rotor 8 becomes narrower due to the effect of thermal expansion, causing galling and seizure. To prevent galling and seizure, martensitic stainless steel material that can be hardened by hardening is used for the valve body 7 When used as the material for the rotor 8 and the acidic liquid material, rust is generated and the same phenomenon as described above occurs. The liquid temperature of the liquid material has a wide range from normal temperature to high temperature (100 ° C), and the influence of thermal expansion. As a result, the change in the fitting gap between the valve body 7 and the rotor 8 is large,
If the gap is set to be large, there is a problem that the liquid substance at low temperature causes liquid leakage and the discharge accuracy is deteriorated, and if the gap is narrowed, the liquid substance at high temperature causes galling and seizure.

As described in JP-A-4-4371, when the valve body and the rotor are made of fine ceramic instead of stainless steel, the wear resistance, seizure resistance and corrosion resistance are high, and the heat resistance is high. Since there is little expansion, even if you set the mutual gap narrow, there will be no galling or seizure,
Although no rust is generated, it is difficult to form a highly accurate fine ceramic valve body and rotor, which causes a cost increase.

The three-way switching valve 3 is frequently disassembled and washed for food hygiene to remove liquid substances adhering to the inside or entering the gap between the valve body 7 and the rotor 8. Since the connecting portion between the fluid pressure cylinder 9 and the rotor 8 is fastened with bolts, not only it takes time to disassemble, but also the weight is large, and this is one bottleneck for the filling operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional liquid material filling device, and there is no problem of galling or seizure of the three-way switching valve, the discharge accuracy is improved, and cleaning and disassembling work can be easily performed. The purpose is to obtain a liquid material filling device.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a metering cylinder which has a plunger piston therein and sucks and continuously discharges a liquid substance from a storage tank, and a plunger having a mechanism for changing the stroke of the plunger piston to change the filling amount. It has a piston drive means, a filling nozzle for filling a liquid or a bag with a liquid, a suction port communicating with the storage tank, a suction / discharge port communicating with the metering cylinder, and a discharge port communicating with the filling nozzle. In the liquid material filling device provided with a three-way switching valve for alternately connecting the suction / discharge port to the suction port or the discharge port, the three-way switching valve is directed to the front and rear in the moving direction and has a truncated conical valve seat. Insert including an elastic valve having an abutting portion, a valve rod having the valve attached to the front end and a locking groove formed at the rear end, and a locking portion to be inserted into the locking groove of the valve rod A switching drive means for axially driving the valve rod through a hand, and two portions facing the truncated cone-shaped valve seat abutting portion are provided with a shape corresponding to the truncated cone shape of the valve seat abutting portion. A valve seat, a port located between the valve seats is the suction / discharge port, and one of the ports located outside the two valve seats is the suction port, and the other is the discharge port. It is characterized in that it is a direct-acting type three-way switching valve including the valve body.

Further, in the liquid material filling device, preferably, the valve is made of rubber or plastic, and is integrally formed at the front end of the valve rod by a cast gurney. The locking groove of the rod is an annular groove, and the plug-in joint has a locking portion having a cutout opening that is smaller than the outer diameter of the valve rod and larger than the diameter of the groove. Characterized by being plugged in.

[0013]

The filling operation in the liquid material filling device is almost the same as the conventional example, and the valve seat abutting portion of the valve is brought into contact with the valve seat on the discharge side by the switching drive means so that the suction port and the suction / discharge port. And pulling the plunger piston by the metering cylinder drive means, and taking in a certain amount of the liquid substance from the storage tank into the metering cylinder through the direct acting type three-way switching valve, and then
The valve seat abutment part of the valve is brought into contact with the valve seat on the suction side by the switching drive means to connect the discharge port with the suction / discharge port, and the metering cylinder driving means pushes the plunger piston to remove the liquid substance in the metering cylinder. A bag or container is filled through a direct-acting three-way switching valve and a filling nozzle.

In the direct-acting three-way switching valve in the liquid material filling device, since the valve linearly reciprocates, the frustoconical valve seat abutment portion abuts the valve seat to switch the port. Since there is no sliding part like the conventional rotary type three-way switching valve inside the valve body, no galling or seizure occurs. Further, since the valve seat abutting part is made of an elastic body, it does not damage the valve seat, fits quickly with the valve seat, and because the sealing property is good and leakage of liquid matter does not occur, the discharge accuracy is good and stable. It is possible to fill a fixed amount of liquid material.

Further, in the above direct acting type three-way switching valve,
Since the connecting portion of the rear end of the valve rod and the switching drive means for driving the valve rod in the axial direction is constituted by a plug-in joint having a locking groove formed in the valve rod and a locking portion inserted therein. The valve rod and the switching drive means can be easily separated from each other, which facilitates disassembly and assembly work. In the above-mentioned direct-acting type three-way switching valve, there is no space for liquid material to enter unlike the conventional rotary-type three-way switching valve.Therefore, in the case of low-viscosity liquid material such as soy sauce, direct-acting type three-way switching valve is used. The inside can be cleaned by passing hot water without disassembling the valve.

When the valve is made of rubber or plastic and is integrally formed with the front end of the valve rod by casting, the valve and other parts fall off during operation of the valve and are mixed in the product. Since it does not have a concern that it will occur and there are no gaps in which miscellaneous bacteria are implanted and propagate, it can be suitably applied to aseptic filling.
Note that in such a liquid material filling device, the frequency of opening and closing of the valve is extremely high.Therefore, for example, when the valve is attached to the valve rod with a bolt nut or the like, the valve and other parts may be damaged due to vibration when opening and closing the valve. There is a risk of falling off,
There are also many gaps where various germs propagate.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the liquid material filling device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, which comprises a liquid material A storage tank 21, a suction hose 22,
Direct acting three-way switching valve 23, metering device 24, discharge hose 2
5, the filling nozzle 26 and the like.

The direct-acting three-way switching valve 23 has a frustoconical valve seat abutting portion 27a facing the front and back in the moving direction (arrows d and e).
A valve 27 having an entire body 27b and made of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic; and a valve rod 28 having a valve 27 integrally formed at the front end by a cast mold and having an annular locking groove 28a at the rear end. A switching fluid pressure cylinder 30 for axially driving the valve rod 28 via a plug-in joint 29, and the valve seat abutting portion 27a at two locations facing the frustoconical valve seat abutting portions 27a, 27b. , 27b having valve seats 31a, 31b formed of inclined surfaces corresponding to the truncated cone shape.
The port located between 31b is the suction / discharge port 32,
The port located outside the valve seat 31a is used as the suction port 33,
The valve main body 35 and the like have a port located outside the valve seat 31b as a discharge port 34.

In the valve body 35, the valve seat 31a is the valve box 3
Suction port member 35 assembled in the horizontally oriented opening 5a
is formed at the tip of b, and the suction port member 35b
Constitutes the suction port 33. At the opening located on the opposite side of the suction opening 33 of the valve box 35a, the valve rod 2
8 is horizontally slidably supported via a plastic bush 36, a rear end of which projects outward from the bush 36, and a cylindrical casing 37 having a notch 37a in the lower portion is attached thereto. The switching fluid pressure cylinder 30 is fixed to the rear end, and the front end of the piston rod 30a and the rear end of the valve rod 28 are connected via a plug-in joint 29.

At the tip of the insertion joint 29 (on the left side in FIG. 2), the engaging groove 28a is smaller than the outer diameter of the valve rod 28.
A notch opening 29a having a width (W ₁ ) larger than the diameter of the engaging portion 29b to be inserted into the engaging groove 28a,
The rear end head 28b of the valve rod 28 is housed in a deep and wide (W ₂ ) concave groove 29c following the engaging portion 29b. The rear end of this plug-in joint 29 is screwed onto the front end of the piston rod 30a.

The metering device 24 includes a metering cylinder 40 assembled to the vertically downward suction / discharge port 32 of the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23, a plunger piston 41 incorporated in the metering cylinder 40, a piston rod 42, and a drive. It comprises means 43 and the like. The drive means 43 has a function of changing the stroke of the plunger piston 41 and adjusting the filling amount.

The filling nozzle 26 moves up and down to open or close the nozzle port of the filling nozzle 26 (stroke S).
₂ ) The stopper rod 44 is fitted. The suction port 33 of the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23 facing horizontally is connected to the suction hose 22, and the vertically upward discharge port 34 is connected to the discharge hose 25. In FIG. 1 or 2, 45 is a packing, 46 is an O-ring, and 47 is a clamp.

FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 shows a state in which the liquid A in the metering cylinder 40 is completely filled in the bag 15 and the nozzle opening of the filling nozzle 26 is closed by the stopper rod 44. Explaining the filling operation using the device, first,
The switching fluid pressure cylinder 30 is actuated to move the valve 27 horizontally (stroke S _{3 in the} direction of arrow d) to bring the valve seat abutment portion 27b of the valve 27 into contact with the valve seat 31b so that the suction port 33 and the suction port 33 The discharge port 32 is made to communicate, and at the same time, the plunger piston 41 is lowered by the drive means 43 (arrow f), and a fixed amount of the liquid substance is transferred from the storage tank 21 through the suction hose 22 and the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23 into the fixed amount cylinder 40. Take in.

When the next bag 15 is prepared below the filling nozzle 26, the switching fluid pressure cylinder 30 is operated to operate the valve 2
7 is moved horizontally (stroke S _{3 in the} direction of arrow e), the suction / discharge port 32 and the discharge port 34 are communicated with each other, and the stopper rod 44 is moved upward, and at the same time the plunger piston 41 is moved upward (arrow g). The liquid inside is filled into the bag 15 through the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23, the discharge hose 25, and the filling nozzle 26. At the same time when the plunger piston 41 moves up to complete the filling, the stopper rod 44 is lowered to close the nozzle opening of the filling nozzle 26. The above-described filling device continuously performs the filling operation with the above steps as one cycle.

At the time of disassembling and cleaning the filling device,
The suction port member 35b, the metering cylinder 40, and the discharge hose 25 can be easily separated from the valve box 35a of the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23 by simply removing the respective clamps 47. The engagement of the locking groove 28a of the valve rod 28 shifts the bayonet joint 29 to the side opposite to the orientation of its cutout opening 29a (raised upward in FIG. 2).
The casing 37, the switching fluid pressure cylinder 30, and the plug-in joint can be separated from the direct-acting three-way switching valve 23 when the casing 37 is lifted. Further, the bush 36 is connected to the valve box 35.
a, and the valve 27 and the valve rod 28 are drawn into the suction port 33.
Can be pulled out from the side. Assembly work may be performed in the reverse order.

To replace the metering device 24, the clamp 47 and the bolt 40a at the tip of the metering cylinder 40 are removed, the metering cylinder 40 is pulled out to the upper part, and the lower end of the plunger piston 41 is engaged with the engaging groove 42a at the upper end of the piston rod 42. This can be done by removing the head 41a in the horizontal direction. Assembly work may be performed in the reverse order.

[0027]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is no room for galling or seizure to occur in the three-way switching valve, and therefore, rust-resistant austenitic stainless steel can be used as a constituent material of the three-way switching valve. Also in this case, the generation of rust can be suppressed. In addition, the valve seat abutment part is frustoconical, the valve seat has a shape corresponding to it, and the material of the valve is an elastic body such as rubber or plastic, so the sealing performance is good and no leakage occurs. It is possible to fill a fixed amount of liquid material with good discharge accuracy and stability. Further, the disassembling and assembling work is easy, and in the case of a low viscosity liquid material, the inside can be washed only by passing hot water without disassembling the apparatus. Further, by integrally molding the valve and the valve rod, the valve and other parts do not fall off, and miscellaneous bacteria do not propagate, which makes it suitable for aseptic filling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid material filling device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a direct acting type three-way switching valve.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid material filling device of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Storage Tank 22 Suction Hose 23 Direct-Acting Three-Way Switching Valve 24 Metering Device 25 Discharge Hose 26 Filling Nozzle 27 Valve 28 Valve Rod 29 Insert Joint 31a, 31b Valve Seat 32 Suction / Discharge Port 33 Suction Port 34 Discharge Port 40 Metering Cylinder 41 Plunger piston

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A metering cylinder which has a plunger piston and sucks and continuously discharges a liquid substance from a storage tank,
Plunger piston drive means having a mechanism that changes the stroke of the plunger piston to change the filling amount, a filling nozzle that fills a bag or container with a liquid substance, a suction port that communicates with the storage tank, and a communication with the metering cylinder. A liquid material filling device having a three-way switching valve that has a suction / discharge port that communicates with the filling nozzle, and a discharge port that communicates with the filling nozzle, and that alternately connects the suction / discharge port to the suction port or the discharge port, An elastic valve having a truncated cone-shaped valve seat abutting portion facing forward and backward in a moving direction, a valve rod having the valve attached to the front end and a locking groove formed at the rear end, and a valve rod. Switching drive means for axially driving the valve rod via a bayonet joint having a locking portion to be inserted into the locking groove, and two locations facing the truncated conical valve seat abutting portion. The valve seat abutting part is paired with a truncated cone. Having a valve seat of the above-mentioned shape, the port located between the valve seats is the suction / discharge port, and one of the ports located outside the two valve seats is the suction port, and the other is the above-mentioned suction port. A liquid material filling device, which is a direct-acting three-way switching valve having a valve main body as a discharge port. 2. The liquid material filling device according to claim 1, wherein the valve is made of rubber and is integrally formed with the front end of the valve rod by casting. 3. The liquid material filling device according to claim 1, wherein the valve is made of plastic and is integrally formed with the front end of the valve rod by a cast doll. 4. The locking groove of the valve rod is an annular groove, and the insertion joint has a locking portion having a notch opening smaller than the outer diameter of the valve rod and larger than the groove diameter. The liquid material filling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portion is inserted into the annular groove.