US2363543A - Container filling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 28, 1944. 4 5. DE HAVEN MILLER ,3

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR .Bmwe fie/Zzuen 11/562221 BY 1 85 M ATTORNEYS B. DE'HAVEN MILLER 2,363,543

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS Filed June '5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Bracug fieflamm'lkr ATTORNEYS Nov. 28, 1944 Nov. 28,1944. v B, DE HAVEN MILLER 7 ,5

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS fl- .1a.

Filed June 5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIIIIIIIIIA lNvENToE flraae DeHaoenMdIer ATTORNEYS for that purpose.

Patented- Nov. 1944 UNITED STATE Bruce-De Haven to The Girdler s PATENT OFF CONTAINER AiPAltATUS Miller, Louisville, Ky.-, assignor Corporation,

ICE

Louisville, Ky.. a

corporation of Delaware Application June 5, 1948, Serial No. 489,770

24 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for filling liquids into bottles or other containers under vacuum, and more particularly to an improved design and construction of a filler valve Numerous forms of apparatus for filling liquids into containers under vacuum are available on the market or have been proposed, but none of those forms with which I am familiar has proven entirely satisfactory in operation in those cases in which it is essential to prevent air from leak-- ing into the apparatus and becoming incorporated in the liquid in the reservoir and various passages oi. the filling apparatus, and in the con- One oi the disadvantages of this simple form of fillin pparatus'is due to the fact that it is practically impossible to maintain the proper degree of vacuum in the apparatus. Furthermore, there results considerable waste of the energy required in operating the evacuating mechanism. Another form of filling apparatus heretofor employed,

has included valve means manually operable first to connect the container with the evacuating equipment, and then to close the evacuating passage and connect the container with the liquid supply. Examples oi this type are shown in Pat ents 712,832 to Moore, and 1,232,105, 1,437,916 and 1,437,917 to Shelor: Modifications 01' this last mentioned form have included valve mechanisms operative mechanically, sometimes by movement of the filling apparatus itself 'and sometimes by movement of the container, for first connecting the container with the evacuating mechanism and then connecting it with the liquid supply. Examples of this type are shown in Patents 1,978,002 to Weaver; 619,474 to Fowler: 21 ,193,299 and 2,204,131 to Glunz; and 732,678 to An important disadvantage or all the forms 0! filling apparatus above mentioned results from the fact that they are incapable of automatically rejectin broken or defective bottles or containers. Thus it is necessary to depend up n an operator to detect such defective containers and reicct them. Frequently itis impossible ior an operator 46:. the reservoir and on a larger scale: one of the to detect quickly any slight imperfections in a container. suchas small crack pr'irregularitles,

at the mouth of a bottle, and this frequently leads to filling of defective containers in such manner that undesirable amounts of air 1 are introduced into the liquid in the containers or into the reservoir of the filling apparatus.

, Attempts have been made to provide filling apparatus capable oi automatically. detecting and rejecting defective containers, as appears from Patent 668,303 to Beyer and someof the patents previously'mentioned. None, of those with which I am familiar has been capable of accomplishing such detection and rejection of defective con-' tainers without undue waste of energy of the evacuating mechanism and introduction or undesirable amounts of air into the liquid reservoir and other parts of the filling apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide a filling apparatus incorporating an improved form 01' filler valve which is completely automatic in its operation: is capable of filling liquids into bottles or containers iunder vacuum and to a definitely controlled level without permitting any leaking in of air or aeration of the liquid, either in the filling apparatus or container; does not have any oi'the other above mentioned objectionable features of previous forms of filling apparatus: and is capable of eliminating dripping after the filling operation is completed.

A further and .more particular object of the invention is toprovide an improved valve for vacuum filling apparatus, which is capable of automatically preventing the filling of broken or defective containers; does it in such manner as to conserve the energy 01' the evacuating equipment;

prevents the passage of air through the liquid in the reservoir and various passages of the filling apparatus; and prevents introduction of any substantial amount of air into the reservoir of the filling apparatus above the liquid level.

Other objects and details of my invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with th accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a bottling machine embodying my, invention and showing in side elevation certain features thereof:

,/"'Fig. 2 1sa central vertical section of a portion filling tubes being shown in side elevation;

Fig, 3' is a central vertical section of one of the filling tubes on a still larger scale; the middle portion of the tube being omitted and the parts bein shown in the positions they occupy when there is no container in the filling position;

, Fig. 3a is an enlargement oia portion of Fig. 3-,

eration;

tively of Fig. 3;

Fig. is a perspective view of the outer of the two tubes-oi the nozzle;

Fig. 16 is a central vertical section through a modified form of filling apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 17 is a section on the line i'l-l'l of Fig. 16,

and

Fig. 18 shows further modification of the upper I part of the form shown in Fi 16.

Although the apparatus of my invention may be employed to advantage in the filling of various kinds of liquids into bottles or containers, it is particularly advantageous for the filling of butties with milk which has been deaerated to a very highdegree, such as, for example, milk which has been treated by a process and-apparatus such as shown and described in applications Serial No. 438.216 and Serial No. 439,836 of Pa'ulF. Sharp, David B. Hand and Edward S.- Guthrie; which applications are assigned to Cornell Research Foundation. Hence, the invention will be described herein as embodied in a vacuum filling apparatus for milk, although it is to be understood that it is not intended thereby to limit the invention to milk flll'ing apparatus.

For purposes of illustration, my improved filler valve is shown as embodied in a milk filling apparatus of more or less conventional form, and only suiflcient details of the general construction of this apparatus will be included herein to insure,

proper understanding of my invention.

As shown in Fig. 2, the reservoir of the apparatus is comprised of a tank 20 having a dome shaped cover 2| with a gasket 22 for sealing the Joint between the tank and cover. During operation of the filling apparatus, the cover is held in sealing relation to the tank .by the. vacuum maintained in the reservoir. If itis desired to .provide additional insurance against misplacement of the cover and against leakage at the joint betweenthe cover and tank, any suitable clamping means may be provided. As is customary with apparatus of the form shown, the tank 20 is supported for rotation on a pedestal (see Fig. 1) bolted to a plate 23 welded or otherwise secured on the bottom of the tank,

For introduction or milk into the reservoir,

' there is provided -a vertically extending stationary tube 24, which extends to a point adjacent the bottom of the reservoir. The upper part of 1 this tube extends concentrically through a stationary. T-shaped connection 25, and is held in place by means of a flange 26 which is welded on the tube and clamped between a clamping nut 21 and the upper end of the T-shaped connection 25. A gasket 01' any suitable form and material or other suitable means is provided for,

maintaining an air-tight seal. between flange 28 and the end of the connection 25. The lateral of the T-shaped connection is provided with a clamping nut 35 for securing thereto the end of a pipe 3i leading to the evacuating mechanism, whereby a vacuum may beestablished and maintained in the reservoir through the passage surrounding tube 24, and the joint. between pipe ll -and' connection is such as will prevent any loss of vacuum at this point.

In order to permit rotation. of the reservoir, relative to the stationary tube 24 and connection 25, while at the same time insuring the necessary air-tight seal around the. centrally located opening in the cover 2|, there is provided a stationary sleeve sweated' or otherwise secured at its upper end in a recess in the lower end of connection 25. This sleeve projects down into the upper part of the reservoir and has a suitable packing 36 bearing against the outer surface thereof; said packing being carried by a sleeve 31 extending through the opening in the cover and welded to the cover. Sleeve 31 supports in its lower end a removable retainer ring for the lower end of packing 36, and the upper part of sleeve 31 is surrounded and, reenforced by a collar 42, which is welded at its lower end to the cover M. The upper end of collar 42 carries a packing gland 44, the pressure of which against the packing 35 is adjustable by means of a clamping nut 45, which latter is secured by a lock nut 46. A thrust washer of wood or other suitable material is inserted. between the upper end of the gland 44 and clamping .nut assembly 45 and the bottom and the'fioat is so designed that the surface of of an,apron 5| secured on the lower end of stationary connection 25. From theabove it will be understood that an air-tight seal is maintained between the outer bearing surface of the stationary sleeve 35 on the one hand, and the bearing surfaces provided by the rotatable sleeve 4|, packing 36, and gland 44 on the other hand.

The supply of milk into the reservoir through the open lower end of the tube 52 is controlled by a float 53 having a central sleeve 54, which is slideable vertically onthe tube 24. This float is intended to maintain the surface of the liquid in the reservoir approximately at the level indicated at A. This level, of course, is dependent upon the degree of vacuum maintained in the reservoir,

the liquid will not rise above the level B, even when a substantially perfect vacuum is established in the reservoir.

When the reservoir is filled to the proper level and the float is'in its uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 2, a sealing element 55 carried by the float, bears against and closes the lower end of the milk supply tube 24. This sealing element 55 may be constructed of rubber or other suitable, relatively soft, resilient material, and is held in place in the lower end of the sleeve '54 by suitable means such as a plug 56, retained by means of a hairpin-like clip 51 which engages slots 50 in the lower end of tube 54', and slots in the plug as indicated in Figs. 2 and 9. Clip 51 also serves to hold in place on the lower end of sleeve 54, an inverted conical perforated screen 82, which has a reenforcing bearing washer 63 secured around and on the lower side of a centrally located opening in the strainer element. strainer element is held in engagement with a washer 84 secured on the-lower end of sleeve 54', but upon removal of clip 51, the strainer element may be removed downwardly from sleeve 54.

When the liquid in the reservoiris below the desired level, float 53 assumes a lowered position so as to permit milk to how downwardly out of the bott'omof tube 24 and thence laterally out through a plurality of slots 58 (see Fig. 8). in

sleeve 54, and into the main body or milk in the reservoir through the perforations in strainer element 62.

If the float 53 were permitted to rotate with Normally, the

' rule 1i isa packing ring the reservoir 2! and the body of milk there there would be an undesirable amount of wear on the closure element 55, due to rubbing against the -only one of these valves is shown in detail on Figs. 2 to 6 of the drawings, it will be understood that the desired number of such valves are disposedaround the bottom of the tank 20 at the proper arcuate distances apart. as indicated on Fig. 1. which will be referred to more in detail hereinafter.

Each of the valve assemblies is supported and guided by means or an outer stationary tube having a flanged ferrule" welded or otherwise secured on the lower end thereof. When the valve assembly is inserted into an opening provided therefor in the bottom of the tank 20, the flange of ferrule II is securely held in place by means of a clam ing nut 12.'which engages a screw-threaded nipple 13 secured in the opening in the bottom of the tank by welding or otherwise, a suitable gasket being inserted between the bottom of the nipple i8 and the ferrule flange.

This constitutes a conventional form of sanitary -Joint, and removal of nut 12 permits ready withdrawal of the whole valve assembly from the reservoir, so as to permit disassembly and cleaning of the valve parts.

Within tube 10 there is disposed a ve t cally slidable tube 16. on the lower end of which is welded a nozzle 11 formed with a circumferential flange 18 for a purpose hereinafter described. A sealing ring 80 ismoun ed on the nozzle 11 below flange 1B for engagement with the mouth of a bottle or other container to be filled. This sealing ring is made of rubber or other suitable material of suillcient softness and resilience, and the bottom thereof is conically shaped and provided with an annular groove 8|. mouth of the bottle or other container is pressed against ring 00. an air-tight seal is insured, provided the rim of the bottle or container does not have cracks or other defects such as would render undesirable the use of the bottle or'container.

In order to prevent stagnation of milk in the crevices in the Joint between the valve assembly andthe tank 20', which stagnation mi ht cause contamination of the body of milk in the reservoir, a plurality of passages If are provided in the exterior surface of ferrule H. The lower ends of these passages communicate with ports OI, extending radially through the ferrule and communicating with the slight clearance between the inner surface of the ferrule and the outer surface of the tube II. This clearance communicates with the interior of tube 18 by means of openings 8! ln the tube. milk which might tend to collect inthe.

Thus, any crevices of the Joint. will flow downwardly through passages 82, ports 83. said clearance, and o enings ll, into the filling passage within tube 18, and thereby will maintain all small vertically extending parts of the joint free packing nut I! in screw-threaded engagement with the lower end of the ferrule Ii, so as to seal the joint between the stationary ferrule andthe slidabletube It. Packing nut" is formed at its upper end with an annular flange", which provides 'abearing surface for thevupper end of a compression spring 8!, the.lower end of which bears on the flange II and applies downward pressure on the tube 18 for a purpose to be described more in detail hereinafter.

concentrically disposedwithin the tube 10 is a vertically movable tube 92, which, with the tube 18 forms an annular passage I for the flow of milk to the filling nozzle I1. The milk enters I this passage from'the interior'oftank 2| through openings II in tube I0 and openings 06 in tube II.

Any suitable number and arrangement of these openings may be provided. However, in the illustrated embodiment, three openings 94 are provided in tube II at approximately 120 center to center spacing, while four openings 85 are provided in tube 1 at 90 center to center spacing.

With this arrangement. and due to the somewhat larger circumferential width'pf openings 94, itis insured that some part of the openings ll always will be in registry with some part of the angular lugs iIi secured in the upper end of the Figs.6,1l and 15).

so that when the from contamination. said clearance is too slight to properly illustrate in the drawi gs.

Around the slidable tube suitable material. which is clamped in place by a tube II, In order to provide for withdrawal of the tube 92 from the tube 18, when the valve parts are disassembled for cleaning purposes, the

upper portion of tube 18 is provided with four slots III disposed in quadrature relationship (see engaging the interior of enlarged portion I M of the tube 82. At its lower end, rod I05 has an enlarged head I" adapted to guide the lower end of the rod in tube I2, and which head is of such diameter as to provide a slight clearance III between it and tube It. This clearance is shown as exaggerated in Fig. 3a, as the actual amount would not clearly appear in a scale drawing. A

plurality of curved cutaway portions iii are provided in head i" for the free flow of air into the lower end of tube 92 when the' air valve isfully open, as hereinafter described. The extreme lower end of this head is formed with a conical enlargement Ill, constituting a valve en- 'gageable with the valve seat lilat the inner lower end of the tube It to completelyshut oil the flow. of air into the air passage H3 formed between rod I" and the tube 82.

Adjacent to the upper end of the rod are two a enlargements or -stops HI and Ill, disposed in vertically spaced relationship and arranged for engagement with the upper and lower faces, re-

!8 and below the f.er- It of rubber or-other spectively, offan abutment member H8, which is in-the form of a bifurcated spring clip. This spring clipextends into and is supportedby a This permits spreading apart of lugs NIL-when the tube 16 is'removed from.

pair of slots m disposed in opposite sides or the upper end portion of stationary tube 10. These abutments are so spaced as to .form lost motion connections between the rod and tube I and limit the range of movement oi-the .rod to an amount less than the range of movement ofthe tubes and '02. On the extreme upper end of rod till there is slidably mounted a cylindrical aseases block I20, the weight of which is so calibrated I fample from about to about 28" oi! mercury will be maintained in the reservoir by suitable means attached to the connection 3|. Suitable means are also provided for supplying milk to the reservoir through the tube 24, so that under the control offloat 53 and the valve 55, the level of the milk is maintained in the reservoir approximately at the level indicated at A on Fig. 2,

and below the, upper end of the tube 92. Nor-- permitting leakage oi air into the bottle, the bot- [tle soon is evacuated to a predetermined .partial vacuum, as for example about 13" of mercury. The weight of the rod and the weight of the block I20 on the upper end of the rod-are so calibrated in accordance with the vacuum to be maintained in the reservoir, that when, and only when, the predetermined partial vacuum is produced in the bottle, the rod drops to its fully open position shown in Fig. 5, with the enlargement H4 resting von the abutment H6. This opens wide the valve opening at the lower end of air passage H3, al-

lowing free flow of air through cut-away portions H0 of valve head I01, so that the remainder of the air in the bottle is quickly withdrawn and a vacuum approximately equal tothat in the reservoir is produced in'the bottle. When substantial equalization between the pressures in the bottle and in the reservoir is produced, the tube 92 drops to the position shown in Fig. 6, so as to thereby open wide the lower end of milk passage 93 and 'permit rapid filling of the bottle. 'During this filling operation, head I00 01' tube 92 rests'on' lugs illi so that the lower end of air passage H3 mally, when no bottle is in engagement with the I filling valve, the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 3 and the stop H4 on the rod I05 is held in engagement with the upper surface of abutment H8, and the rod is maintained under tension by the action of the compression spring.

"on the flange 13. The spring 89 is of sumcient strength to hold the rod 105 and the tubes II and 02 down against the action of the vacuum maintained in the interior of the reservoir and the valve casing 10. Thus the flared head ill on the rod I 05 is maintained in tight engagement with the valve seat H2 or the tube 92, and the conical flange or valve 90 on the tube 02 is maintained, in tight engagement with valve seat 01 of nozzle 11, so as to thereby seal the milk passage 33 and the air passage H3. Hence, when the valve is not being employed for the filling of a bottle, there is no leakage ordripping of milk from the passage 03, and no leakage or air into passage H3, and thence into the milk reservoir.

When it is'deslred to fill a bottle with the apparatus described; a bottle C is brought into position beneath the filler valve and is raised tocause engagement of the mouth of the bottle with the filler valve. Thus a tight seal is effected between the neck of the bottle and the sealing ring 80, it

the rim of the bottle neck is, reasonably regular and has no cracks or serious breaks. Further upward movement of the bottle raises the slidable tube 16 against the downward pressure of the spring 09. The tube 92 and the rod I05 also move upwardly due to the diilferential in pressure between the interior of the bottle, which is at atmospheric pressure, andthe evacuated interior 0! the reservoir or-tank- 20. After a limited and is not completely closed and any residual air in the bottle is withdrawn through the clearance aroundthe head 10]. l

The final milk level in the bottle is determined by the shape of the sealing ring 30, and the distance this ring projects into the bottle mouth, and the operation just described results in complete filling of the bottle to the proper level without any aeration ofthe milk. The timing of the movement 0! the bottles is so controlled, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, that when sufficient time, which is in the order of only a few seconds, has elapsed for completion of the filling operation, the bottle is moved downwardly and retracted from engagement with the valve. This permits. the tube 10 to move downwardly under the influence of the spring 88, so that the milk-passage 93 and the air passage H3 again are tightly closed at valve seats 91 and H2, as previously described, thus preventing dripping of milk from the valve and leakage of air into the reservoir.

The foregoing description of operation is based upon the assumption or a bottle having no cracks or other defects which would permit leakage of air into the bottle. If such a defective bottle is encountered, no liquid is delivered to it because when the mouth of the bottle engages and elevates the tubes 16 and 92, the rod I05 also will be raised until a restricted opening is produced at the lower end of air passage H3, as prevlouslyflescribed, and the parts assume the positions indicated in Fig. 4. A throttled amount of air then will be drawn from the bottle around th head I01, but due to leakage of air irom the atmosphere into the bottle, it will be impossible to produce in the bottle the predetermined degree of partial vacuum necessary to cause rod I05 to drop to its fully predetermined upward movement or the tubes l0 and 92 and the rod I05, the enlargement H5 on the rod engages the abutment H6, as indicated at the upper-part of Fig. 4. This prevents further upward movement orthe rod, while the two tubes continue to move upwardly a slight additional distance to effect disengagement of valve seat H2 ,from the valve head III on the lower end of the rod I05. This permits air to be drawn through the restricted valve clearance I08 between the tube 92 and the head I01 into air passage H3, tending to produce a vacuum in the bottle. If there are no cracks or other defects open position shown in Fig. 5. Thus the small amount of air which will be drawn up through passage H3 into the evacuated space over the milk in the reservoir will be insuilicient to produce harmful effects on the milk, and loss of vacuum and overtaxing ofthe evacuating equipment will be prevented." Also, as will be recalled from the previous description, tube 92 will not drop to open or filling position, since equalization of pressure between the reservoir and the interior of the bottle cannot be accomplished when a broken bottle is encountered. Hence, since the. milk passage will remain completely closed, there will ment with the corresponding nozzle the bottle removed and replaced be no danger of air bubblingup through and aerating the milk in passage ll. As a result oi this important feature of the invention, a detective bottle will remain unfilled and will be rejected without any necessity for observationv or action on the part of an operator, and no harmful effects, from the standpoint of either the evacuating equipment or the milk in the filling apparatus, will be produced by. reason of the leakage of-air into the defective bottle. when the predetermined time for filling has elapsed, the bottle will be lowered out of engagement with the valve and the valve passages will be tightly closed. I

The apparatus above described may be incorporated in various diilerent types of filling machines and any suitable mechaniism may be provided for effecting the relative "vertical movement or the bottle and the reservoir 20. Merely as an example, there is shown in Fig. 1 a machine, the details of the lower portion of whichconstitute no element oi novelty or portion of my invention. In the mechanism there shown there is provided a base I30 with a platform I3I and a vertically disposed rod I32 on which is mounted the rotatable standard I33 which supports the reservoir 20, The 7 standard has any suitable means for rotating it such as a worm wheel I34 engaging a worm I35 and also carries a spider I36 in which is or other container. Tube 1la is slidable in a bearing sleeve Ila mounted in the lower end of housing Ill, and the sliding joint between thetube and the housing is sealed by a packing Ila of rubber or other suitable material, which is held in place and compressed by packing nut l'la screw-threaded on the lower end. of housing Ill.

mounted an annular row of vertically movable plungers I31. On the upper ends of these plungers are mounted bottle supports I38 vertically slidable in the platform-BI and each provided with a bracket or other suitable positioning means I39 for holding the bottles in place and in alignment with the filling nozzles. The plungers I31 have rollers I40 which of such shape that when the roller is at the lower portion of the cam surface, the bottle on said support will be spaced below and out or engageon the reservoir. As the standard I33 rotates, the roller will travel up the cam to lift the bottle into engagement with the nozzle as shown at the left of Fig. 1 and in Fig. 3, and then further lift it to move the nozzle into the position shown in Fig. 4. The cam is of such shape that when moved laterally for a, sumcient time interval to permit it to be evacuated and then filled, it will be lowered out of engagement with the nozzle and by an empty one.

In Figs. 16- and 17 there is shown a modified form of nozzle embodying my invention and which travel on the upper surface of a non-rotatable cam Ill. The cam is the bottle has The inner tube 92a is guided at its upper end by a removable, U-shaped washer Illa supported in the upper endof tube Ila, and tube lid is prevented from withdrawal from tube Ila by engagementbi a flange or enlargement Illa with washer IIlIa. The outer tubella is provided withan opening 95a to permit flow of milk into passage 93a. .The valve housing Ill is intended to be mounted in such manner that the level of milk will not rise above the center line or the horizontal branch of the T-shaped housing Ill under any conditions of vacuum in the reservoir, and the evacuated space above the milk in the reservoir is in communication with air passage 3a through the top of tube 92a.

The upper end 01' housing- Ill is closed by an abutment disc Illa, held in place'by a flange Ill, which is clamped by anut Ill. Flange Ill is welded or otherwise secured on the lower end of a housing I53 which serves to enclose a spring Ill tor pressing the rod Illa downwardly. The rod Illa has stops or abutments II la and Illa on opposite sides of the abutment disc Illa so as to provide lost motion connections and to limit the range of movementof the rod Illa. Under normal conditions, when no bottle is being filled, the

- slisht distance. This cracked so ed opening between the lower ends of rod Illa may be used with the reservoir shown in Figs. 1

and '2 by proper modification oi the reservoir so that the nozzles connect to the peripheral wall of the reservoir instead of to the bottom thereof. This modiflednozzle includes in general a stationary T-shaped housing Ill which may be welded or otherwise secured to the side wall of the reservoir 2IJ. Within the vertical section or this housing are an outer slidable tube Ila, an inner slidable tube 92a. and a rod Illa. The tubes Ila and 92a and the rod Illa correspond fundamentally respectively, of the previously described embodiment. They have the same type of valve mechato the tubes ll and 82 and'the rod Ill,

nism and normally are pressed downwardly to their lowermost positions by means or compression spring 89a. When the tubes and rod are in to the structure of stop' II4a adjacent the upper end of rod Illa rests on the upper end of disc Illa and the rod Illa is maintained under tension by spring "at.

, When a bottle is placed on an elevatable platform, such as the platform referred to in the previous description, and the platform is raised, the neck of the bottle engages sealing ring lla and raises the outer tube Ila. Tube In and rod Illa also move upwardly due to the vacuum in the reservoir, so that the lower ends of milk passage 93a and air passage Illa are maintained tightly closed. When stop I Ila on the rod I Ila hits abutment I Ila, the rod stops its upward movement while tubes Ida and 92a continue upwardly a has the effect of producing a restricted passage at the lower end or air passage IIla. If the bottle should happen to be that air may enter into it, the restrictand tube 92a prevents-tree rush of air into the valve body and reservoir, and thus prevents contamination of the milk in the reservoir and overtaxing of the evacuating eduipment, in the manner described in bodiment. 1

On the other hand, it the bottle is sound, a vacuum is drawn therein, and when this vacuum reaches a predetermined degree, as for example 13' inches of mercury, rod Illa drops due to its own weight and the predetermined calibration of spring Ill. With the rod in its lowermost position, completion of the evacuation of the bottle quickly takes place as in Fig. 5. As soonas the pressures in the bottle, the valve body and the reservoir are substantially equalized, tube Ila drops to its position shown in Fig. 6, thereby opening the outer milk passage 33c so as to eflect rapid filling of the bottle.

A further modification, which may be applied Fig. 16, is illustrated in Fig. 18." In this latter embodiment, the upper end or housing Illb is closed only by arfiexible rubber.

connection with the previous em- I v said: or diaphragm I55, so that rod 5a is pressed downwardly by its own weight plus the action of atmospheric pressureon the upper 'end of the rod. The area of the upper end I Mb oi the rod is made such that a predetermined the container from said nozzle for closing both said passages.

5. In an apparatus for filling a container with I a liquid,-the combination of a filling nozzle havdownward. pressureis exerted on the rod, which pressure, in combination with the weight of therod, is such as to effect dropplng'oi the rod to the position indicated inFig. 5, only when thepredetermined partial vacuum such as, for example,

13 inches of mercury; is produced in the bottle.

Various other modificationsmay be readily devised within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure' by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for, filling a container with liquid, a filling nozzle'having a vacuum passage and a liquid passage, a pair of valves for closin said passages, means operated by a movement of said nozzle with the container for partially opening the valve of said vacuum passage, and means operative I responsively to the .development of a predetermined degree o'i. vacuum in said container foriurther opening said last mentioned valve and for opening the other of said valves to permit flow of liquid.

2. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, the combination of a filling nozzle havin passages for communication. with the interior of the container, valve mechanism tor controlling said passages, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means for supplying liquid to the other of said passages, positively operating means for operating said valve mechanism. to partially open thevacuum passage upon a predetermined relative movement 01 said nozzle and ing aliquid passage and a vacuum passage for communication with the interior of the container, a valve for said vacuum passage, a separate valve for said liquid passage, means operative by bodily movement of said nozzle with said container for partially opening said first mentioned v valve, means operative automatically upon a predetermined drop in pressure in the container for further opening said first mentioned valve, means automatically operative upon a further drop in pressure in said container for opening the second mentioned valve, and means operative by removal of the container from said nozzle for closing both said valves.

said container, and means automatically operative upon a predetermined drop in pressure in said container tor operating said valve mecha-- nism to open said vacuum passage to a further extent and to thereafter open the liquid passage as the vacuum in said container progressively in- 7 creases.

3. In an apparatus i'orfilling a container with a liquid, the combination of a filling nozzle having passages for communication'with' the interior or v the container, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means for supplying liquid to the other 01 said passages, positively operating means for partially opening the vacuum passage upon a predetermined movement of, said passages with said container, and means auto matically operative upon decrease in pressure in the container for opening said vacuum passage to a turther extent and thereafter opening th liquid passage. I

4. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, the combination of a filling nozzle having a vacuum passage and a liquid supply passage for communication with the interior of the container, valve mechanism for controlling flow of fluid in said passages, means mechanically operable for eflecting operation of said valve mechanism to partially open the vacuum passage,

means operative responsively to a predetermined drop in pressure in the container for further opening said vacuum passage, means operative responsively to a predetermined and greater drop in pressure in the container". for further operating said valve mechanism to open the liquid passage and partially close the vacuum passage, and

means operative automatically upon removal or,

6. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, the combination of a filling nozzle having. a pair of passages for communication with the interior of the container, valve mechanism for controlling said passages, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means for supplyin' liquid to the other of said passages, means operative by relative bodily movement of said nozzle and said container for operating said valve mechanism to partially open the vacuum passage,

a weight operating said valve mechanism to further open said vacuum passage when the pressure in the container drops below a predetermined limit, a separate weight for operating said valve mechanism to open the liquid passage when the pressure in said container drops below a lower predetermined limit, and means operative automatically upon removal of said container from said nozzle for operating said valve mechanism to close both said passages.

7. In an apparatus fqr filling a container with a liquid, the combination of a filling nozzle having sealing means for engaging the inlet of the con tainer and having passages for communication with the interior of the container, valve mechanism for controlling said passages, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means for supplying liquid to the other or said passages, means operative by bodily movement of said nozzle with said container for operating said valve mechanism to partially open the vacuum passage,

means for automatically opening said vacuum passage to a turtherextent when air has been withdrawn from the container to a predetermined extent, means i'or opening the liquid passage when the pressure in the container has been lowmeans operative container from valve mechanism ered to a further extent, an upon disengagement of said said nozzle for operatingv said to close both said passages.

8. A nozzle for filling containers with liquid including a pair otconcentric vertically movable tubes, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube and having a range of vertical movement less than that of said tubes, valve mechanism for said tubes, and means for 1oper-.

mechanism to open the lower tube when said inner tube is beyond the limit of-upward to the outer tube, a pair of valves at the lower end of said nozzle for closing said tubes, positively operating means for partially opening the valve of said vacuum tube by an upward movement of said nozzle and the container, means for auto-' matically further opening said last mentioned valve and thereafter opening the valve of" the liquid tube when the vacuum obtained in said container has reached a predetermined limit, and r means operable upon the removal or the containerirom said nozzle fort-closing both of said valves.

10. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid, including a reservoir for the liquid, means for maintaining said reservoir under partial vacuum, means for maintaining a substantially constant liquid level in.said reservoir, 9. pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube communicating with said reservoir above said liquid level and the outer tube communicating with the reservoir below said liquid level, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube] means for limiting the range of movement of said rod to an amount less than the range of movement of said tubes, valve mechanism for closing 2 or oneof said tubes, means for supplying liquid to the other of said tubes, a pair of valves at the lower end of said nozzle for closing said' tubes;

1 valve when the pressure in the tube, a valve on the lower end or the inner tube for closing the lower end of the outer tube, said inner tube and said rod being automatically raised due to diiierences in pressure in the reserveiland the container during mechanical raising of the outer tube, said first mentioned valve being mechanically opened upon the vertical movement oi. the two tubes beyond the range of movement of the rod, and said inner tube automatically dropping by gravity to open the second mentioned container has dropped to a predetermined limit.

\1-1. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid including a pair or concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube communicating with a source oi vacuum and the outer tube communicating with a source of liquid, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube, the range of movement of said tubes being greater than that of said rod, a valveon the lower end of said rod for closing the lower end of the inner tube, a valve on the lower end of the inner tube for closing the lower end of the outer tube, and a weight having lost motion connection with said rod, said first mentioned valve being opened upon the vertical movement of said tubes beyond the limit of I movement of said rod, said weight serving to 3 a, pair 0! tubes,

means operated by an upward movement 01 said 0 nozzle and the container for partially opening the valve of said vacuum tube, said last mentioned valve being automatically opened to a further extent when a predetermined vacuum is move said rod to its lower limiting position upon a predetermined drop in th pressure in the container, and said inner tube being free to drop by gravity and open said secondmentioned valve when the pressure in the container, due to the escape of air fromthe latter through said inner tube, reaches a lower predetermined limit.

15. A nozzle for filling containers with liquid including a pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube for application of a vacuum to the container and the outer tubei'or the supply of liquid to the container, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube, therange of vertical movement of said tubes being greater than that of said' rod, a valve on the lower end of said obtained in said container, and the other of said valves being automatically opened to permit inflow of liquid when a higher predetermined vacuum is obtained in said container, and means for closing both or said valves upon a downward movement of said nozzle and, said container.

12. In an apparatus for filling a container with liquid, a filling nozzle having a pair 01 concentric matically dropping by gravity to open the second tubes, meansfor applying a vacuum tothe upper end ot the inner one of said tubes, means for of concentric valves at thelower end or said noz-- zle for closing said tubes, positive means for partially opening the valve of said vacuum tube upon an upward movement or said tubes, said valve supplying liquid to the outer or said tubes, a pair being automatically opened to a further extent when a predetermined vacuum is obtained in said container, the other or said valves beingautomatically opened to permit inflow oi. liquid and said first mentioned valve being partially closed when a higher predetermined vacuum is obtained 5 in said container, and neans for closing both of said valves by a downward movement oi said nozzle and said container.

13. An apparatus for filling containers with rod for closing the lower end or the inner'tube, a valve on the lower end of the inner tube for closing the lower end or the outer tube, the outer tube upon being raised, permitting raising of said inner tube and said rod, said first mentioned valve being mechanically opened upon the vertical movement of the two tubes beyond the range of movement 01' the rod, and said inner tube auto mentioned valvewhen the pressure in the container has dropped to a predetermined limit.

16. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid including a pair of vertically movable tubes, one tube communicating with a source or vacuum and the other tube communicating with a source of liquid, avertically movable rod, the range of movement of said tubes being greater than that of said rod,'a valve on the lower end of said rod for closing the lower end of the first mentioned tube and a valve on the lower endo! raid first mentioned tube for closing the lower end of the second mentioned tube, said first mentioned valve being opened upon the vertical movement 01 said tubes beyond the limit or movement of said rod, and said first mentioned tube being free to drop by gravity and open said second menliquid from a reservoir under vacuum, including l 'a pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, a

vertically movable, rod within the inner tube, the range of movement or said tubes being greater than that or snid -rod, a valve on the lower end oi said rod for closing the lower end of the inner 76 tioned valve when the vacuum in the container. due to the escape of air from the latter through said. first mentioned tube, reaches a predetermined limit.

, 17. An apparatuslfor filling containers with liquid including a pair of concentric, vertically .rnovable tubes, the inner tube communicating movement of said tubes being greater than that of said rod, a valve'on the lower end of said rod for closing the lower end of the inner tube, and a valve on the lower end of theinner tube for v closing the lower end of the outer tube, said first mentioned valve being positively opened upon the vertical movement of said tubes beyond the limit iii of movement of said rod and 'said inner tube being free to drop by. gravity and open said second mentioned valve when'the vacuum in the container, due to the escape of air from the latter through said inner tube, reaches a predetermined 5 limit.

18. A nozzle for container filling apparatus including a pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube affording an evacuating passage and the outer tube affording a passage for the liquid to be delivered to the container, a valve at the lower end of the inner tube and having seating engagement with the lower end of the outer tube, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube and having a valve at its lower end for seating engagement with the lower end of the inner tube, lost motion connections for limiting the movement of said rod to a range less'than that of said tubes, means on said nozzle for closure engagement with the inlet of a container to be filled whereby upon upward movement of said containensaid tubes and rods are simulta neously lifted, with both of said valves in closed position, until said lost motion connectionslimit the upward movement of said rod and said tubes are lifted to a further extent to thereby partially open said second mentioned valve, said rod being free to drop and further open said second men-- tioned valve when the vacuum in the container reaches a predetermined limit and said inner tube 0 being free to drop and thereby open the first mentioned valve when the vacuum in the container reaches a lower predetermined limit.

19. A nozzle ,for container filling apparatus including a pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube affording an evacuatingpassageand the outer tube aflording a passage for a liquid supply, a valve at the lower end of the inner tube and having seating engagement with the lower end of the outer tube, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube and having a valve at its lower end for seating engagement with the lower end of the inner tube, means for limiting the range of movement of said rod to e a lesser range than that of said tubes, means on 5 said nozzle for engagement with the mouth of a container and whereby upon upward movement of saidcontainer, said tubes and rods are simul- 1 taneously lifted -to the same extent with said valves in'closed position, until the limit of up 0 ward movement of said rod is reached and upon further upward movement of said tubes, said second mentioned. valve is partially opened and said rod dropping by gravity to its lower limiting position when .the vacuum in the container reaches a predetermined limit and the inner tube dropping by gravity and opening the first mentioned valve when the vacuum in the container reaches a lower predetermined limit.

20. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid, including a reservoirfor the liquid andprovided with connections for delivering liquid to said reservoirand for maintaining said reservoir;

under partial vacuum, means for controlling the delivery of liquid to said reservoir to maintain a, substantially constant level therein, a pair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube communicating with said reservoir abovesaid liquid level and the outer tube communicating with the reservoir below said liquid level, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube and having lost motion connections with a wall of said reservoir, and valve mechanism for closing the lower ends of both of said tubes, said valve mechanism operating to open the lower end of the inner tube when said inner tube is moved upwardly beyond the limit of upward movement of said rod, and operating to open the lower end of the outer tube when, a sufficientvacuum has been createdin the container to permit the inner tube to drop by gravity.

21. A nozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuatinga container and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being removably engageable with said container and having a passage for the withdrawal of air from such container, a passage for delivery of liquid to said container, and means operative dependently upon the pressure in such container, when the latter is in engagement with said nozzle, for automatically opening said liquid delivery passage when, and only when, a predetermined vacuum is produced in the container. 22. A nozzle for use in an-apparatus for evacuating a container and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzlebeing removably engageable with said container and having'a normally closed evacuating passage and a normally closed liquid delivery passage, means operable to effect opening of said i evacuating passage so as to permit withdrawal of air from a container engaged with said nozzle, and means operative dependently upon the pressure in such container for automatically opening said liquid delivery passage when, and only'when, a predetermined vacuum is produced in the container.

23. A nozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuating a container and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being removably engageable with said container and having a normally closed evacuat ing passage and a normally closed liquid delivery passage, means operable to eifect-partialopening of said evacuating passage .upon pressure engagement with" said nozzle, and means operated d8 pendently upon the resulting drop in pressure in such container for effecting further opening of said evacuating passage, and thereafter automatically opening said liquid delivery passage upon production of a predetermined vacuum in the container. 24. Anozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuating a container and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being re'movably engageable with a container to be filled and having an evacuating passage and a liquid delivery passage, valves nor-' mally closing said passages, means operable to effect partial opening of the evacuating passage valve so as to permit withdrawal of air from a container engaged with said nozzle, and means operative automatically in response to production of predetermined degrees of vacuum in such container for eflectingfurther opening of said I v evacuating passage valve and thereinafter eifecting opening of the other of said valves to permit flow of'liquid to the container through said liquid delivery passage.

- BRUCE ms HAVEN mum.

Images