US2658657A - Machine for filling containers - Google Patents

Description

NOV- 10, 1953 P. R. FECHHEIMER MACHINE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 17, 194B I N VEN TOR. Z401. /c-cf/f/E/Mff.

AT T O R N E V15- NOV- 10 1953 P. R. Fl-:cHHI-:IMER

MACHINE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1948 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS..

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Nov. l0, 1953 P. R, FECHHEIMER 2,658,657

MACHINE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17, 1948 FIzzJ.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR. 251m kenaf/Nef.

BYMNQK ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 10, 1953 P. R. FEcHHr-:IMER 2,658,657

MACHINE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l/ Il .91

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INVENTOR. DAUL -cf/f/E/Msf.

Www/M ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES FTNT OFFICE MACHINE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Application February 17, 1948, Serial No. 8,885

(Cl. 22S-116) 12 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for filling containers of various forms with iiowable materials; and one of its principal objects is the provision of improvements in such machines to enable them to fill the containers at substantially higher speeds.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means to prevent dripping from the nozzle and related parts in the intervals between filling operations.

Yet another object of my invention is the provision of simplified and automatically acting valving means for the accomplishment of the objects set forth above.

In one aspect, my invention has for its object the combination of the advantages of both the vacuum and pressure filling principles While substantially eliminating the disadvantages of both.

These and other objects of the invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specincations, l accomplish by that structure and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe certain exemplary embodiments. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of the nlling machine with parts eliminated for the sake of clearness.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of a filling stem assembly shown in the off position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the same assembly in the filling position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the same assembly shown in the leveling position.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a lling stem assembly taken along the section line 5 5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of an adjustable means for fixing the position of a portion of the tray-lifting cam shown in Figure l.

Figure 7 is a plan View of a portion of a cam actuated group of filling stem assemblies of modied form for accomplishing the purposes of this invention.

Figure 8 is a front elevation of one of the filling stem assemblies shown in the scavenging position, taken along the line 8--8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of the same assembly shown in the filling position, taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a front elevation of the same assembly shown in the leveling position, taken along the line lil- I0 of Figure 7.

Figure 11 is a vertical elevation of the assembly in the scavenging position.

Figure 12 is a vertical section of the same assembly in filling position.

Figure 13 is a vertical section of the same assembly in the leveling position.

Figure 14 is a sectional view of the assembly shown in Figure l1 taken along the section line lll-i4 of that gure.

Figure 15 is a sectional view of the same assembly taken along the section line l-l 5 of Figure 11.

Figure 16 is a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 12 taken along the section line It-I G- of that figure.

Figure 17 is a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 12 taken along the section line lll l of that gure.

Figure 18 is a sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 13 taken along the section line IB-l or that figure.

Figure 19 is a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 13 taken along the section line lQ-I e of that figure.

The machine of this invention is an adaptation of and improvement upon the machine shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,763,240 dated June lo, 1930 and issued to Karl Kiefer. When filling containers with a machine such as is described in that patent, the turbulence of the liquid entering the container causes the entrainment of a certain amount of air. With foamy liquids a substantial amount of time is required to draw off the resultant foam, especially at high speed. Even when filling relatively non-foamy products such as water or alcohol solutions, a substantial portion of the total filling time is required to permit the entrained air to rise to the top of the liquid in the container and be drawn ofi by the vacuum mechanism in order to stabilize the ll and obtain a uniform filling height. This also is especially true when filling at high speeds.

Various expediente have been used to overcome this condition. It is possible to insert the filling tube to a point near the bottom of the container so that, after the liquid level in the container has risen to a point where the oriice of the tube is covered, no more air can be entrained in the entering stream. The air vent or vacuum tube is located at the desired iill height nearer to the top of the container, with allowance being made for the displacement of the lling tube when it is withdrawn from the container. This expedient is effective, but the material which adheres to the outer walls of the filling tube below the vacuum tube 'will tend, after the tube has been Withdrawn from the container, to run down the outer walls of the tube and drip off. The drippage soils the machine and sometimes the containers being lled; and it also represents a loss of product.

Another expedient to reduce air entrainment is so to locate and shape the filling orifice as to direct the incoming liquid along the inner wall surfaces of the container being filled. Under optimum conditions, this can be quite effective and may prevent foaming to a great degree, While drippage may be overcome by suitable valving. However, `the shape of the inner walls of the container may not lend itself to such an arrangement. For example in a bottle of square or rectangular cross section and with substantially square shoulders the expedient is not usually effective. Furthermore, even when the orifices of the tube are carefully located and shaped so as to give good results, a change in filling height may alter condiions so as to nullify the advantages obtained. A

Again, the fill-ing tubes in machines of the class described in Patent k1,763,240 must have filling orices of sufiiciently small size to prevent, at the conclusion of the filling operation, the outflow of liquid held in the tubes by surface tension.

Yet again, in machines of the class described in Patent 1,763,240, it is necessary to insert both the vacuum and the filling tubes into the container through its restricted neck opening. This reduces the area available for introducing liquid. In filling bottles of the type known as sprinkler top or shaker top it has .been av practice to insert a` single tube. This tube however was Connected to the vacuum source, and the liquid was introduced through .a larger tube, surrounding the vacuum tube and carrying a resilient sealing member at its lower end. This tube and seal did not enter the container being lled. Such a procedure and apparatus is particularly disadvantageous when handling' products such as shampoos having high foaming characteristics since, after the liquid level in the container rises to the lower extremity of the vacuum tube and liquid begins to flow out of the vacuum tube there is a tendency for the liquid flowingl in around the vacuum tube to prevent the foam from being drawn 01T.

In the present invention, only one tube is inserted into the bottle or other container, and this during the filling portion of the -cycle is the filling tube sothat the maximum area is available for the iiow of the liquid. Since the vacuum tube, which is a larger diameter tube surrounding the lling tube and carrying a resilient sealing member at its lower extremity, isY located wholly outside the container, the container will .be filled level full excepting for the lowering of the liquid due to the displacement of the filling tube when it is withdrawn. In order to reduce turbulence and foaming, the filling tube may, if desired, be insertedto a point near the bottom of the container being filled. After the container is filled level full as described, the container is moved away from the filling tube andthe seal is broken between the resilient sealing member and the top of the bottle. The bottle may then be lowered so that the lower extremity of the lling4 tube is located exactly at the desired ll height.

Whenthe container has been lowered as above described, the iilling tube which has `been shut off from the supply source of filling material is now -connected'to the vacuum line and the excess material is withdrawn from the container so that the fill height is brought to the desired level. During this procedure any excess liquid in the container is withdrawn, and thereafter any liquid remaining in the filling tube will be withdrawn upwardly and carried into the vacuum tube line. There may, however, be some residual material which will adhere to the inner wall surfaces of the lling tube.

When the bottle or other container is brought to its lowest position it can be removed from the machine and replaced by an empty container. At this time there may be a tendency for the residual material adhering to the inner wall surfaces of the filling tube to drip. To prevent this I scavenge the tube by permitting a small upward flow of air to continue through the filling tube, even though the final lowering of the bottle has shut off the vacuum in order to conserve it.

It will be noted that the fill height can be controlled accurately and can also `be adjusted within reasonable limits by adjusting the particular position of intermediate dwell of the container. This can be accomplished in various ways.y Y

In Figure l, I have shown the operating parts of an exemplary machine having a base or frame 20, a central rotating column 2| journaled on the frame and provided with a worm wheel 22 engaging a worm 23 by means of which the column may be rotated, and a table 24 fixed tothe r0- tating column so as to move with it.

At the top of the column Igprovide a hollow head 215 divided into two parts by a membrane or diaphragm member 26. A spider element 2l at the top of the column bears various filling spout assemblies 28 at the ends of its arms. Provision is made for raising and lowering the head and spider to accommodate bottles or other containers of various sizes.

Therotating table 24 is provided with trays 29 to accept bottles 30 0r other containers. These trays have an up and down movement of considerable extent for reasons hereinafter made clear. In the exemplary embodiment they are mounted on rods 3| vertically slidable through the table 24, and having teeth at their lower ends. Bifurcated lever arms 32 are pivoted at one end in Ibrackets 33 beneath the table. Intermediate their length these lever arms carry cam following rollers 34 engaging a cam 35 on the frame of the machine. At their opposite ends the lever arms contain pinions 36 which not only mesh with the teeth on the vertically reciprocable rods 3| but also with teeth of rack members 3l depending from the table 24 and fixed thereto. In this way the movement of the outer ends of the lever arms 32 is multiplied in producing up and down movement of the tray carrying rods 3|.

At one side of the machine I have indicated atr 38 a reservoir for the lling material. This reservoir is connected by means of a conduit or pipe 39 to thev upper part of the head 25, and this part is connected by tubes 40 to the filling spout assemblies 28. The lower part of the head 25, i. e., that part below the diaphragm 26 is connected by tubes 4| to the filling spout assemblies, and is also connected by a conduit 42 to a trap 43 shown below the column. A vacuum pump 44 is connected by a conduit 45 to this trap. Another conduit 46, having a check valve 41 and provided with a pump 48 connects the trap 43 withfthe reservoir 38. The conduits 39 and 42 may be made adjustable as to length in known ways to permit the head to be raised and lowered on the column.

It will be understood from what has been said above that the mode of filling preferably involves drawing a vacuum on the containers 39, which causes the liquid filling material to be withdrawn from the reservoir 38 and introduced into the containers. The pump i4 is effective in creating this vacuum. Any excess material from the containers is withdrawn through the vacuum line including the conduit 42 and collects in the trap i3 from which it is withdrawn by the pump 48 and carried back to the reservoir 38.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive each lling head in one embodiment of my invention comprises a body 28 affixed to a bracket-like end of the spider arm 2l. A filling tube 49 is slidably mounted in a vertical bore in the body and is connected to or lies against a valve element 50 located in a liquid chamber` 5l in the body. This chamber is connected by a lateral passageway (52 Figure 5) to the liquid conduit 4U. The valve 50 is urged to closing position by a spring 53 engaged beneath a cap 5ft threaded into the upper end of the body. The upper end of the filling tube i9 is provided with holes or passageways 55, so that when the iilling tube is in its upper position as illustrated in Figure 3 liquid from the liquid chamber 5I can enter the filling tube and flow therethrough downwardly into the container 39. The tube 49 is preferably made long enough, as shown, to go down into the container 39 to a point near the bottom thereof.

Aiiixed to the tube 49 there is an outer tube 56, also slidable in the body 28, and bearing at its lower end a sealing element 51.

The vacuum line 4| is connected to the body 23 through the end of the spider arm 21 as shown in Figure 5. It is coupled by a small passageway 58 to an upper vacuum chamber 59. In the lowermost position of the lling tube 49 this upper vacuum chamber is connected to the interior of the tube through one or more small holes 6l! in the tube. The vacuum line 4I is also connected by a passageway 5I to a lower Vacuum chamber 52. With the inner and outer tubes 49 and 55 in their lowermost positions as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the lower vacuum chamber 52 will be connected to the interior of the iilling tube 49 through a hole l53 in both tubes. tubes are in their uppermost position as shown in Figure 3, the lower vacuum chamber 52 will be connected to the interior only of the outer tube 55 through a hole 54.

A pair of long rods 55 and 6B are journaled so as to be vertically slidable in the body 28 as shown. One or both of these rods may be provided with a collar 5l to x their lowermost positions. At their lower ends the rods 55 and 65 are provided with an annulus 98 which carries a container engaging element 99. This element is so arranged as to engage some portion of the container other than the upper edge thereof, for example the ridge 39a on the container neck. The bore which accepts and mounts the rod 55 in its vertically sliding movement coincides with a portion of the passageway 6| by which the vacuum line M is connected to the lower vacuum chamber (i2, and the rod closes this passageway. In order to open the passageway up as desired, I provide in the rod y55 two reduced portions It and ll. The body 23 is mounted to the end of the spider arm 21 by means of bolts 12, 13.

The operation of this structure can now be When both described. When relative movement between the container and the body 28 is produced, as by raising of the tray element 29, the ridge a on the bottle neck first contacts the element 69; the lling tube 49 moves downwardly into the bottle, and the rods and 65 move upwardly. Finally the sealing member 5l on the end of the outer tube 55 contacts the top of the bottle neck as shown in Figure 3. This gure illustrates the filling position. The reduced portion 'H has moved into such a position that the passageway Si is opened up. The vacuum line, through the lower vacuum chamber 52 and the hole (is in the outer tube 56 is connected directly to the outer tube, and a vacuum is pulled on the container 30. lt will be noted that the inner and outer tubes i9 and 5l have moved upwardly until this connection has been made. This breaks any connection between the filling tube G9 and the upper vacuum chamber 59. The valve 59 also has been opened by this upward movement, and the pulling of the vacuum on the container 39 causes the lling'liquid to enter the tube [i9 and flow down it into the container. This action continues rapidly until the container has been filled to the top, excess fluid leaving the system through the outer tube 55 and returning to the trap via the vacuum line 4l.

Next the container and the head are moved relatively away from each other. The sealing element 5l leaves the end of the bottle neck; the seal is broken and no more filling material enters the container. While the tubes and 55 now move downwardly so that the vacuum passageway 5l through the lower vacuum chamber 52 is connected to the filling tube li@ through the common hole '93, the downward movement of the rod will have closed the vacuum passageway so that there is no tendency for liquid to be -withdrawn from the container. ./is the container moves downwardly the liquid level in it will fall somewhat because of the displacement of the tube 49.

As shown in Figure e however if the downward movement of the container is halted at a certain position, the reduced portion iii of the rod 65 will again open up the vacuum passageway 5l. The apparatus is so adjusted that at this point the lower end of the filling tube le is exactly at the desired fill height. When the vacuum connection is made as aforesaid to the iilling tube de any overll in the container 3B will be withdrawn upwardly through the tube which is now in the vacuum line and will be returned to the reservoir through the vacuum system. The liquid level in the container will be rapidly reduced to the desired fill height. When. this is reached no further liquid will be withdrawn from the container because the liquid level become below the end of the tube di?. But the continued connection of this tube to the vacuum line will insure the withdrawal from of any liquid it contains. Although a reduction in the height of the liquid in the container 3d to the desired ll height occurs rapidly because of the large eifective diameter of the tube iii?, a pause or dwell in the tubes movement at this point is desirable.

As the container moves still further away from the head 28 the rods t5 and 55 will move further downwardly, and the reduced portion "E5 will move away from the passage Si. This closes the vacuum line connection to the lower vacuum chamber 52. It will be noted however from Figures 2 and 5 that the tube it remains connected to the vacuum line through the passageway 53 andthehole ,60, ,i This, is a reduced connectionand is not wasteful of the power ofthe vacuum pump. e However there will ybe suflicient continued movement of air upwardly in the tube 49 toy exert a scavenging action and not only to prevent any liquidv clinging to the inner surfaces o f the walls of this tube from dripping from its end, but also sufcient to draw inwardly into the tube any filling material clinging to the outer surfaces of itswalls in suiiicient quantity to ow downwardly to its end. Finally the container moves entirely away from the element 69 as shown` in Figure 2, and the lled container may then be removed. In the interval between the lling of one container and the filling of the next the scavenging action continues to prevent drip. In the filling of materials into bottles where the filling must be very laccurate volumetrically, it is desirable to provide some adjustment for the llheight. This may be accomplished, with my apparatus, b y any means which serves to adjust the exact position of the pause or dwell which has been mentioned above. It will be noted that the reduced area '1 0 of the rod S5 is madeof sufficient length to permit such adjustment while keeping thelvacuum passageway 8| open. Any means `for controlling the relative position of the body 28 and container 38 at the dwell period may be employed. One such means is illustrated in Figure 6 where the cam element 35 has an adjustable section 14 connected with the main body of the cam by links 15 and 18 so that the adjustable portion can move up and down but will remain in parallelism with the main portion of the cam. One of the lengths 1S has a toothed segment 'Vl at its lower end. This segment meshes with a worm 'i8 on a shaft T8 suitably journaled in bearings on the cam or elsewhere so as to be rotatable but incapable of axial movement. A knob, hand wheel or the like 8E' is provided on the end of the shaft 18 for adjustment purposes.

The valving action which has been described above may be accomplished by other means; and in Figures 7 to 19 inclusive I have illustrated a type of apparatus in which the bodies 280i of the filler assemblies are provided with plug valve elements 8| which are urged by means of springs 82 to a tapered seat. In this embodiment the vacuum line 4| is connected through the plug Valve directly to a chamber 83 in communication with the outer tube 55a. rIhe iilling liquid line 48 is connected through the valve directly to a vacuum chamber 84 in communication with the ller tube 49a. vThe valve plug 8| has a central vertical passageway 85, which at the top is connected in one radial position with the vacuum chamber 84 by a transverse passageway 88. In a different radial position there is a smaller passageway 81 by which it may be connected to a depressed portion S8 of the vacuum chamber.

A lower end of the central passageway 85 is connectable by a series of radial passageways 89, 90 and 9| to the vacuum line 4| and by yet another passageway 92 to the vacuum chamber 83. At the level of the lling chamber 84, the plug valve element 8| is provided with an annular passageway 83 extending about approximately half the circumference of the valve plug and. servin-g as a means for connecting the filling line 4U with the filling chamber 84.

Starting first with the filling position of the apparatus as illustrated in Figures 12, 16 and 17, it will be noted that the filling tube 49a extends downwardly into the container h. The upper end of the container is in contact with the sealing element 51a. The vacuumline is directly connected with vacuum chamber 83 through valve plug passageways and 92 and air is exhausted from the container 30h. The filling chamber 84 is directly connected to the lling line 4D by the annular passageway 93, and the vacuum line has no connection with the filling chamber 84. Hence the lling material delivered by the lling line 40 will flow into the container through the lling tube 49a until the container is completely lled, excess filling material leaving the system through the chamber 83 and the vacuum line 4 As the container is moved away from the body 28a it comes to and is stopped at that position where the end of the filling tube 49a marks accurately the desired height of ll in the container. The plug valve element 8| will have moved as shown in Figures 13, 18 and 19 to such position that the lling chamber 84 is disconnected from the lling line 4|. At the same time the chamber 83 is disconnected by the valve from the vacuum line 4|. But the vacuum line is connected through passageways 9|, 85 and 86 directly to the lling chamber 84. Liquid is rapidly withdrawn from the container upwardly through the lling tube 49a until the liquid level in the container comes below the end of the filling tube. Thereafter any liquid in the filling tube is withdrawn upwardly, the liquid so withdrawn in both instances entering the vacuum line and going to the trap. As the container is moved further downwardly the valve plug element 8| is turned to the off position as illustrated in Figures 11, 14 and 15. Here the vacuum line is disconnected from the vacuum chamber 83y the filling line is disconnected from the filling chamber 84, and the previously described connection between the vacuum line and the filling chamber has been broken. A much smaller effective connection between the Vacuum line and the lling chamber 84 is however effected through the passageway 81, and the flow of air through this passageway is enough for the scavenging action and prevention of drippage hereinabove described while being insulcient to destroy the general vacuum in the vacuum system.

As will be evident from Figures '7 to 10 inclusive, the valve plug element 8| has an upwardly extending operating shaft 8|a provided with a transverse operating member 94. Again I provide a member 69a to be contacted by the bottles and moved upwardly by them. This element is mounted on rods 65a and 66a which are slidable vertically in the body 28a. At the extreme right of Figure 7 one of the -bodies is shown with the valve-operating element 94 in the off position. The rod 56a is provided with a cam element 95 which acts to set the valve-operating element 94 to the lling position shown next to the left 1n Figure 7 as the bottle'and the element 69a are moved upwardly. It will be understood that in a straight vacuum system no filling can occur until the top end of the container 38a contacts the sealing element 51a. Two filling positions are shown in Figure 7, and it will be understood that the bodies 28a are moving in a clockwise direction in that gure. At the conclusion of the lling operation, and in consequence of this motion, the valve plug element 8| is turned to the withdrawal position hereinabove described by a fixed stop element 96 on the machine frame which engages the valve operating element 94. lhe return of the valve plug to the off position 1s accomplished by yet another xed stop element 91' on the machine frame engaging the op posite end of the valve operating element 94.

It will be appreciated that in the embodiment of Figures '7 to 19^inclusive, since I have provided for an initial movement of the valve plug to the filling position by means of a cam 95, such movement Will not take place unless a container be present on the tray so as to move the element Bea. This is a safety feature preventing the operation of the mechanism in the absence of a container to be filled. In the oi position, the operating element 911 of the valve plug will not strike either of the stops 9E or Si. In the embodiment of Figures 2 to 5 inclusive, no valving action will occur in the absence of a containerbecause in this event the rods 65 and 66 will not be moved.

In my mechanism the filling stems can readily be changed by removing the cap dit covering the spring in the stem casing and also removing the nut which holds the lling valve seat in place, in the embodiment of Figures 2 to 5. The entire lling stem can then .be removed downwardly. In the embodiment of Figures '7 to 19, the filling stem or tube can be removed by unscrewing it from the body 28a. If it is desired to nll under circumstances where the end of the filling stem or tube approaches the bottom of the container closely, diierent length filling tubes will be required for diierent heights of container. Also by adjusting the length of the filler tube or stem the fill height may be adjusted. This may be accomplished also by adding or removing end sections of the stem.

The outer annular vacuum tube ed in the assembly shown in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive is an integral part oi the lling stem and, preferably, is soldered or brazed to the lling tube. Filler tubes or stems can be changed also to vary the diameter of the tube to be inserted into the bottle or other container.

The machine in the embodiments shown by me has been described as a vacuum filler, that is, a machine with a liquid supply source located so that its level is substantially below that of the containers being iilled, The liquid is introduced into the containers solely by drawing a vacuum thereon so that atmospheric pressure operating against the weight of the liquid in the system forces the liquid into the container. However it is possible to raise the liquid supply source or to bring the liquid into the machine under pressure since in both embodiments of my machine there can be no ilow of the liquid from the filling assembly except when a bottle is properly in position on a raised tray. By increasing the inlet pressure faster filling can be obtained. Increase ing the inlet pressure does not eliminate with this arrangement, any of the advantages of vacuum lling with one exception. This exception is, that in the event a cracked or chipped neck container is brought into filling position it will be filled in a pressure system whereas it will not in a vacuum filler, since a vacuum cannot be drawn on the container.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having thus described my invention in certain exemplary embodiments, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a filling device an elongated filling tube, for entering a container, a vacuum tube having sealing means for contacting the top of the container, a source of lling material, a vacuum source, valve means acting alternatively to conl@ nect said sealing tube to said source of filling material and said vacuum tube to said vacuum source, and to efect an interruption of said connections and connect said iilling tube to said vacuum source, means for positioning a container relative to said filling tube in a lling position in which said end oi said tube is near the bottom of said container, and in a leveling position in which the end of said tube coincides with a desired height of iill of said container, whereby the oonnection of said tube to said vacuum source will resuit in the withdrawal of material filled into said container above said desired height of fill, two alternative connections controlled by said valve means between said filling tube and said vacuum source, one of said connections being of relatively large diameter and effective during the withdrawal of material as aforesaid, the other of said connections being of relatively smaller diameter and effective to prevent drip during the intervals between lling without depleting said vacuum source, an operative means adapted to be engaged and moved by a container presented for filling, and an operating connection between said operative means and said valve means, said operative means being mounted upon rods slidable in a body containing said valve means, one oi said rods acting as part of said valve means in closing and opening a connection to said vacuum source.

2. rEhe structure claimed in claim l in which said vacuum tube is a short tube concentric with one end of said filling tube, in `which said filling tube and said Vacuum tube are reciprocable together in said body, in which valve means for said source of filling material is operated by said slidable tubes, and in which the position of said tubes determines the connection oi' both to said vacuum source.

3. The structure claimed in claim l wherein said valve means includes a plug valve in a body, wherein said operative element is mounted on rods slidable in said body, wherein one of said rods has means for moving said valve plug to a filling position, wherein said body and the container move together in a machine, and wherein fixed stops are provided in said machine to determine other positions of said valve plug.

4. A nlling device comprising an elongated tube adapted to enter a container, a source or nlling material to be nlled into the container, a source of vacuum, a valve having a first position connecting said tube to said source oi' filling material, and a second position connecting said tube to said source of vacuum and disconnecting it from said source oi" filling material, valve actuatu ing means operable upon the insertion of said tube into a container to move said valve to said first position to fill the container, means for eifecting a relative positioning oi the container and said tube such that the end of the tube determines a desired height of fill in the container, and means acting to move said valve to said second position as the relative positioning of the container and tube is effected whereby to withdraw excess material in the container down to the desired height of fill.

5. rlhe structure claimed in claim l including tubular means for eiecting a seal against the 'top of the container, said valve acting in said first position to connect said tubular means to said source of vacuum.

,6. The structure claimed in claim i wherein said valve actuating means includes a member actuated by the presentation of a container there- 7. The structure claimed in claim 4 wherein sadi valve actuating means comprises a member mounted upon rods slidable in a body containing said valve and wherein one of said rods acts to change the position of said valve.

8. In a lling device, a single elongated lling tube adapted to enter a container, a vacuum tube having a sealing means for contacting the top of the containery a source of lling material, a source of vacuum, and a valve having a first position in which said lling tube is connected to said source of lling material and said vacuum tube is connected to said source of vacuum, and a second position in which said lling tube is connected to said source of vacuum, operating means for said valve adapted to be engaged and moved by a container presented thereto, and means for positioning the container relative to said operating means in a iilling position in which the end of said lling tube is near the bottom of the container and the valve is moved to said rst position, and in a leveling position in which the end of the filling tube coincides with a desired height of fill of the container and said valve means is moved to the second position.

9. In a filling device, a single elongated filling tube adapted to enter a container, a vacuum tube having sealing means for contacting the top of the container, a source of lling material, a source of vacuum, and a valve having a first position in which said filling tube is connected to said source of filling material and said vacuum tube is connected to said vacuum source, a second position in which said lling tube is connected to said source of vacuum by a connection of relatively large area, and a third position in which said lling tube is connected to said source of vacuum by a connection of relatively smaller area, an operating means for said valve adapted to be engaged and moved by a container presented for illinq'g, means for positioning the container relative to said operating means in a filling position in which the end of said filling tube is near the bottom of the container and the valve is moved to said rst position, in a leveling position in which the end of the lling tube coincides with a desired height of iill of the container and said valve is moved to the second position,` and in a scavenging position in which the lling stem is removed from the container and the valve is moved to the third position.

10. The' structure claimedv in claim 9 within said operating means is mounted upon rods slidable in a body containing said valve, and wherein one of said rods acts as a part of said valve.

1l. The structure claimed in claim 10 wherein said vacuum tube and said lling tube are reciprocable together in a body containing said valve, and wherein the three positions of said valve are determined by the positions of said sliding rods and said tubes.

12. The structure claimed in claim 9 wherein said vacuum tube and said filling tube are reciprocable together in a body containing said valve, and wherein movement of said tubes effects a change in position of said valve.

PAUL R. FECHHEIMER.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 792,857 Strong June 30, 1905 989,546 Jensen Apr. 11, 1911 1,080,469 Murray Dec. 2, 1913 1,232,105 Shelor July 3, 1917 1,614,485 Muller et a1 Jan. 18, 1927 1,763,240 Kiefer June 10, 1930 1,863,652 Drew June 21, 1932 2,509,756 Berthelsen May 30, 1950

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