PROCEDURE FOR THE CONTROL OF THE R ELLENED OF RECIPIENTS WITH A FLUID PRODUCT AND I NSTALLATION OF
FILLED FOR I PLEMENTATE THIS P ROCED I M IE NTO
The present invention relates to the field of filling containers with a fluid product in a filling plant comprising a product tank and a filling unit that allows the simultaneous filling of several containers. The problem that remains in the base of the technique of filling containers is to deliver to each container a predetermined quantity (in volume, weight, ...) of fluid product, in the shortest time (said of another mode with the highest filling speed, or even with the highest expense), and whatever the effective volume of the container and / or its geometrical and dimensional characteristics and / or the rheological characteristics of the conditioned product. These needs involve several difficulties, in particular in the installations of continuous filling of recipients in movement one after the other (filling facilities in line). A first difficulty addresses the need to quickly ensure a fine grading of the expense provided by each filling peak: a manual intervention is certainly possible in a filling facility under normal conditions, but must be set aside in the particular facilities ( filling facilities in sterile medium in which all manual intervention requires the stoppage of the installation, after the implementation of a complete decontamination cycle before sending it to the route). Another difficulty is directed to the importance of the load losses that vary according to the number of filling peaks actually in operation (the peaks being fed in principle by gravity from a constant level container). These load losses vary in particular at the time of the start phase and the stop phase of the installation as the filling peaks come into service, respectively they are taken out of service, which leads to concomitant variations in costs in the peaks that are in service. On the other hand, in the course of continuous operation of the installation, an incident may occur in the feeding of one or more containers (missing container or incorrectly placed under the peak). According to the arrangement of the technology of the installation, whether the corresponding peak delivers the product that is lost then (waste of product), either the peak that is inhibited and the expense of the other peaks is modified. There is now a need for an instantaneous controlled device, remotely (ie without manual intervention within the installation), of the individual effective expenditure of all the filling peaks of the installation, this control that must be able to be carried out in a simple way , as inexpensive as possible, and that does not need esive maintenance. For these purposes, according to a first of its aspects, the invention proposes a method for controlling the filling of containers with a fluid product in a filling plant comprising a product tank and a filling unit that allows the simultaneous filling of containers. various containers, said method, being arranged according to the invention, is characterized in that: - measuring the total actual expense of product delivered by the refill unit to the set of containers, - detecting the number n of containers in the process of refilling in the unit of filling, - set a theoretical expense g. of individual refilling of the containers, - compare the total actual measured cost and the theoretical expense nq, and - carry out, if necessary, a correction of the total real expenditure to bring it into line with the theoretical expenditure, this thanks to the fact that it is possible adapt the operation of the filling facility to the exact number of containers actually filled simultaneously, without sensible variations of the real individual costs of filling. The implementation of the method of the invention makes it possible to satisfy the objectives sought in the measurement where the management of the expenses is entirely automatic and does not require any manual intervention within the installation: this procedure can then find application in a particularly interesting way in the facilities of filled in sterile medium. In addition, regulation can be carried out more quickly and the implementation, for this purpose, of electronic means that work in real time does not have any particular problem for the person of the trade today. It turns out that the exploitation of the method of the invention within an in-line refilling installation, also operating at a high rate, is perfectly feasible to handle the individual refilling of the containers with an optimum expenditure also during the transition phases (start, stoppage ) of the installation that in the course of continuous operation to take into account particularly the faults of feeding in containers (missing container or incorrectly placed under the peak). According to the second of its aspects, the invention proposes a container refilling installation with a fluid product comprising a product reservoir and a refilling unit equipped with a multiplicity of refill peaks that allow the simultaneous filling of several containers, said installation being arranged according to the invention, it is characterized in that it comprises: a proportionally adjustable valve, inserted in the supply duct between the filling unit and the product tank, measures of measurement of the total actual cost of the product; product that effectively circulates in the filling unit, - appropriate detector means for determining the number n of containers in the process of being filled in the filling unit, - means for establishing the theoretical expenditure g_ of individual filling of the containers, - means of calculation to determine the global theoretical expenditure n. q of the product to be supplied to the filling unit; and - comparison means that receive and compare the information of the total real expenditure measured by the measurement means and the theoretical expense calculated by the calculation means, said comparator means having an output of command linked to a command of the valve for regulating the expense of the product supplied by the filling unit. In the following description, any proportionally adjustable valve will be called a proportional valve. In a possible embodiment, the means of measuring the total actual expenditure of the product comprise a flowmeter for the measurement of the relatively high costs that is arranged in series with the main proportional valve and, for the measurement of relatively low expenses, a circuit in derivation on the main proportional valve comprising a flowmeter for the measurement of low costs and a secondary proportional valve, the command means that selectively service the main valve and the secondary valve according to the expense to be measured. In yet another possible mode of realization, the means for measuring the actual product expenditure comprise a multiplicity of individual flow meters associated respectively with filling peaks and addition means that determine the sum? Qi of the individual expenditures qi detected. The means suitable for the invention find a preferred application in an installation in which the filling unit is arranged in the form of a carousel that rotates with the filling peaks peripherally distributed, the filling of the containers being carried out in an angular sector predetermined circular path followed by the peaks, and more particularly finds application even in such a facility arranged for a filling of containers in sterile environment. The invention will be better understood by reading the detailed description that follows of certain embodiments given solely by way of non-limiting examples. In this description, reference is made to the attached drawing in which: Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of a first embodiment of an installation according to the invention; Figure 2 is a diagram of a variant embodiment of a part of the installation of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a diagram of the arrangement of another embodiment of an installation according to the invention. Referring in principle to Figure 1, e) fluid product (generally a liquid) is brought to a reservoir 1 in which a device known per se (not shown) ensures the maintenance of the product at a constant level. A intake conduit 2 brings the fluid product to a refilling unit 3 which in practice is an in-line refilling unit of the rotating carousel type or of an analogous type. The filling unit 3 is equipped with a multiplicity of filling peaks 4 to which supporting means (by the neck and / or by the bottom) of containers 5 are associated. The general arrangement of such an installation does not enter the frame of the present invention: it can be any, of any type appropriate for the function and the performances sought. According to the invention, a valve 6 for proportional sealing under the action of a proportional command element 7 is arranged in the conduit 2. This command can be of all types (pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, ...), but here it is preferably of the electrical type because of the means implemented in the framework of the invention and of which it is a separate matter. The principle implemented to control the operation of the filling unit 3 with the help of the proportional valve 6 consists of measuring and comparing, on the one hand, the actual instantaneous cost of the product delivered by the filling unit 3 and, on the other hand , the instantaneous theoretical expense before being supplied to the refill unit 3 and to determine, from this comparison, a command signal of the valve that regulates the instantaneous total real expense delivered to the refill unit 3 to make it coincide with the theoretical instantaneous expenditure. For this purpose, a flow meter 8 is also provided in the conduit 2, which provides an electrical signal Sr representative of the instantaneous total real cost of the product flowing in the conduit 2 and delivered to the filling unit 3. In the filling unit 3 means 9 are provided which detect the number n of containers in the process of being filled. A device 1 0 allows to fix the value of the theoretical expense g, before being delivered to each container. A multiplier device 1 1, which receives the electrical signals representative of the magnitudes n and g., Produces the product nxq constituting the signal Sth representative of the theoretical instantaneous expenditure before being supplied to the filling unit 3. The two signals Sr and Sth they are then compared in a comparing device 12 which outputs a command signal Sr-Stnr for the command element 7 to drive the valve under the appropriate conditions so that the instantaneous total real expense coincides with the instantaneous theoretical expenditure. The electronic means that are available in common and currently in commerce (microprocessors) have the ability to process information and the appropriate speed to ensure the aforementioned functions in order to obtain the appropriate regulation in real time. The flowmeters can present operating zones that do not allow them to cover both large expense measurements and small expense measurements, it can be considered, to extend the domain of operation of the installation of Figure 1, having the resource of the following assembly illustrated FIG. 2. In the conduit 2 and in series with the main proportional valve 6, the flowmeter 8 suitable for the measurement of large expenditures is arranged. In bypass on the proportional valve 6, an own flow meter 14 is connected in series for the measurement of small costs and a secondary proportional valve 15. A processor 13, associated with the comparator 12, ensures the selective opening and closing of the valves 6 and 15 depending on the importance of the detected expense and select the convenient signal between the two signals Sr? provided by the flowmeter 14 and Sr2 provided by the flowmeter Sr2, so as to be in measure to ensure proper regulation of the valve in service 6 or 15. In another embodiment illustrated by Figure 3, each filling peak 4 is equipped with an individual flowmeter 17. The information measured by these flow meters are summed in an adder device 18 that delivers a signal Sr =? qi representing the instantaneous total real expense delivered by the refill unit 3. For the rest, the installation is arranged as indicated above with respect to Figure 1 .