US2569410A - Vacuum apparatus for filling capsulelike receptacles with fluid - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 25, 1951 E. P. DE cRAENE 2,569,410

VACUUM APPARATUS FOR FILLING CAPSULE-LIKE REcEPTAcLEs WITH FLUID Filed sept. 25, 194s W600/V PUMP Patented Sept. ?5,Y 1951 o UNITE]L STTES ENT OFFICE rAQUM' Een CAP- 'SUIJELI'KE EEPTACES'WITH- FLUID dnond Deraege, Westchester;` I-ll., assignor to Crane 00.-, hicago, Illa, acorporation of Application@ september 25, 194e',fseria1iNo. 51,213'

f 1' cii'. (ci. ic-iis) This invention relatesk toa novel vacuum apparatus for filling capsule-like receptacles with a liquid.

vIn order to obtain an appreciation of the background of this invention, .itshouldvbe understood thatV inthe manufacture oftemperature respon sive units that areto be filled with a liquid, it is essential thatA they belled' completely and therefore that all air spaces within the unit aree'limif nated, realizing. that the presence of air willcause erratic functioning of the unit. Likewise] any air or' gas otherwise absorbed in the liquid" during the course of lling thecapsule will be conducive to inconsistent results and. errors.

Therefore, it is one of the more important objects of this invention to provide the apparatus and method of filling temperature respsive units such as the capsules, for example, described in patent application Serial Number 212 led January 2, 1948, now abandoned. In devices of the type referred to it is, of course, important that these thermal units operate with considerable accuracy and, at the same time, permit their manufacture and assembly with a minimum of expense and freedom from trouble.

It is another important object to provide an apparatus and method which positively eliminates air content simultaneously from the two sources above referred to and yet, at the same time, to permit a larger number of units to be lled than heretofore. Thus, the process lends itself readily to quantity production.

It should'be further understood that the thermal units above referred to contain an actuating stem axially movable in response to internal Huid pressures behind a. snugly fitted diaphragm therewithin and are useful in the same manner as described in the device per se shown in patent application Serial Number 790,638 led December 9, 1947, now Patent No. 2,548,516, to actuate a switch, shaft or other mechanism by such axial movement of the actuating stem, The diaphragm as illustrated is preferably provided with a socket within which the stem I3 is snug-ly received.

As will hereinafter become apparent, it is desirable from a production standpoint to eliminate unnecessary adjustments previously caused by the air content normally accumulating within the thermal unit and also to have the actuating stem protrude from the unit uniformly or at a constant dimension on all units. It should be understood that unless this is controlled during the filling of the units, such stem projection may vary considerably.

It is; therefore, a' further object of this invention: tof provide anr apparatus in whichr the thermal. units are held in a fixture which controls the over` all-stem dimension before placing the devices in the' vacuum chamber as hereinafter described ingreater detail.

Other` objects and advantageswill become more readily apparent upon proceeding with the specification read in light of the accompanying drawings,=in='which g jFig.- 1 is asectional assembly view of a generallassembly of the novel apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a' plan sectional view of the device on the line-2 2 of Fig.v l.

Similar refer-ence numerals refer to similar par-tsfthroughoutthefsever-alyviews.

4`l'1,efer ring now tofFigf; ha vacuum Vessel generally referred to as I, preferably consisting of upper and lower halves 2 and 3 respectively, bolted together by means of the bolts 4 or held together to form a pressure-tight joint by any other suitable means, provides the chamber 5in which a jig for holding receptacles to be filled, generally referred to as 6, is positioned resting upon the base 1 of the lower half portion 3. The depth of the uid in which the filling jig is placed is represented by the dottedilines 8. The particular fluid used may be a silicone polymer fluid, the latter being odorless, inert and not injurious to rubber or the like, and having a known and constant rate of expansion over a Wide temperature range, and a low vapor pressure.

The complete assembly, in addition to the lling jig, consists of the outlet piping 9 for attachment to a vacuum pump (not shown) and provided with a vacuum gage as indicated, the piping 9 being preferably held in sealed relation to the container 2 by means of the packing I I.

The thermal units or receptacles are placed in the lling jig generally designated 6, the thermal units being separately mounted upon the apertured supporting portion I2 with the projecting stems I3 abutting against the base frame I4. Each of the thermal units I5 is open as at I to allow for the liquid in which they are placed to be received. The lower supporting base frame or plate I4 and the upper supporting member Il are maintained in assembled relation by means of the bolts I8 and the nuts I9. As indicated, the stove-bolt 29 retains the apertured member I2 in xed relation to the plate 6.

While the members I4 and I1 are shown in substantially circular form, it should, of course, be apparent that they may be of any suitable shape to conveniently and economically receive the thermal units or other vessels to be iilled. A detailed construction of the thermal units or receptacles has been omitted. It is deemed unnecessary because it is more clearly described in detail in the pending patent application referred to.

1n considering the operation of this device by means of the vacuum pump, as air is-,evacuated from the jar l, it is also evacuated from the thermal units thereby permitting the liquid to flow into the said units l5. It will also be apparet that at the same time anyY entrapped -air or gas in the liquid will be liberated. When the thermal units l5 are lled, the cover 2 of the vacuum jar into an upper portion of the said receptacles and vconcurrently liberateany entrapped air or gas therewithinjthe said plates being held together i to clamp a plurality of receptacles therebetween,

is removed and the sealing 'screws and gaskets (not shown) but described in connection with patent application, Serial Number 212 will be positioned in fluid sealing relationjln' thegoperiings of the units before they are removed from the uid in the jar. Thus it will be clear that the thermal units l5 are lled with a predetermined measured amount of silicone polymer fluid orv the like, and further than the specic construction of the jig or holding fixture base plate 6 cooperates with the specific construction of the thermal unit lbeing lled to provide for such measured vacuum ll as hereinabove described.

The foregoing Operation will assure lling the units completely with the liquid free from any air or gas. v

It should, of course, be understood that the specific embodiment of the apparatus may be changed considerably from that shown and described and it is the desire therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In an apparatus for filling With liquids free of air or gases such receptacles as thermal elements :the lower'platev supporting the axially movable projecting stem of the receptacle to be lled, apertured means provided Yon said lower plate to ,;at.least.partiallyj receive a lower neck portion of the .said receptacle, the receptacle projecting stem extendingI within said apertured means beyond the lowermost neck portion of the said receptacle to bear against said lower plate.

Y EDMOND P. DE CRAENE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 325,131 Stevenson Aug. 25, 1885 695,271 Besse et al Mar. 11, 1902 V1,345,347 Chaney July 6, 1920 2,047,260 Franklin July 14, 1936 2,047,273. Kopinski July 14, 1936 2,277,288 Berch Mar. 24, 1942 2,292,295 Royal Aug. 4, 1942 2,355,620 Bower et al Aug. 15, 1944

Images