US3695315A

US3695315A - Container filler-valve volume adjustment

Info

Publication number: US3695315A
Application number: US81299A
Authority: US
Inventors: David M Ayars Jr
Original assignee: AYARS FILLERS Inc
Current assignee: AYARS FILLERS Inc
Priority date: 1970-10-16
Filing date: 1970-10-16
Publication date: 1972-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-03

Abstract

A container filling-valve includes a valve body having two generally hollow cylindrical sections mounted to have relative axial movement. The two sections are biased by a spring to have relative movement in a first sense. One of the sections (the upper) has an inlet for the filling material; the other section (the lower) has a discharge port for discharging the fluid material into a container to be filled. A valve member cooperates with the discharge port to control fluid flow therethrough and is normally biased to a closed position. A flexible diaphragm connects the two sections. When the upper section is moved sufficiently for the container to be contacted, the valve is opened. The valve has a seal means which engages the upper rim of the container to be filled. The seal means includes an annular flange-like member threadedly engaged to the lower valve section such that rotation of the annular member permits it to be axially positioned along the lower section thereby to adjust the extent to which the lower valve section can extend into the container and thus control the volume of fluid deposited in the container. A friction locking nut adapted to frictionally engage the flange-like member permits the flange-like member to be locked into its adjusted position.

Description

United States Patent Ayars, Jr.

[54] CONTAINER FILLER-VALVE VOLUME ADJUSTMENT 72] Inventor: David M. Ayars, Jr., Salem, NJ.

08079 [73] Assignee: Ayars Fi1lers, Inc.,Salem,N.J.

221 Filed: Oct. 16,1970

21 Appl.No.: 81,299

Primary Examiner-Houston S. Bell, Jr. Attorney-Mortenson & Weigel [451 Oct. 3, 1972 two generally hollow cylindrical sections mounted to have relative axial movement. The two sections are biased by a spring to have relative movement in a first valve has a seal means which engages the upper rim of the container to be filled. The seal means includes an annular flange-like member threadedly engaged to the lower valve section such that rotation of the annular member permits it to be axially positioned along the lower section thereby to adjust the extent to which the lower valve section can extend into the container and thus control the volume of fluid deposited in the container. A friction locking nut adapted to frictionally engage the flange-like member permits the flange-like member to be locked into its adjusted position.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures [57] ABSTRACT A container filling-valve includes a valve body having 61 I w 65 l 63 55 2 M Prin 1d 36 16 Mover 24 20 1 7 **1- 7 T 82 100 l q BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION upper rim of an open container, fill the container to a predetermined level with fluid and then disengage from the container. The level to which the container is filled or the volume of fluid deposited in the container is controlled by adjusting the depth to which the discharge port or orifice extends downwardly intothe interior of the open end of the container.

While quite practical and useful and used extensively throughout the industry, the Ayars valve incorporates a split clamping band about the lower portion of the valve to permit adjustment of the position of the sealing gasket relative to the valve port. This permits the adjustment of the degree of protrusion of the valve port into the container merely by adjusting the position of the split clamping band. Unfortunately it has been found from experience that the split clamping band is relatively diff cult to disengage and adjust accurately about the valve. The difficulty of adjustment arises from the fact that if the clamping band is not properly aligned with the valve it tends to bind and lock. Furthermore, after the valve has been in use forawhile it often becomes somewhat caked and corroded and tends to make the sliding of the clamping valve extremely difficult to the point that often the entire valve assembly has to be disassembled and the valve cleaned before an accurate adjustment can be made.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to obviate some of the disadvantages of the prior art fillervalve described hereinbefore.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved filler-valve that is .readily adjustable to discharge different volumes of fluid into the containers to be filled.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a simplified filler-valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In a preferred, embodiment of this invention, an improved filler-valve adapted to fill containers includes a valve body having two generally hollow cylindrical sections mounted to have relative axial movement. The valve includes means normally biasing the relative movement of said sections in one sense. One of the sections of the valve has an inlet. The other section of the valvehas a discharge port and seal means adapted to contact the container to be filled. A valve member cooperates with said port to control the flow of fluid therethrough and is normally held by the bias of the other section to a closed position. Co-operating means between the valve member and one of the sections opens the valve member during the relative movement of the sections against their bias.

The seal means includes an annular flange-like member threadedly engaged to the other valve section such that rotation of the annular member permits the seal means to be adjusted axially along the valve thereby to adjust the extent to which the discharge port extends into the container to be filled and thereby controls the volume of liquid deposited in the container.

2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be I best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially fragmented illustrating a two-section filler-valve constructed in accordance with this invention, adjusted such that the discharge port extends downwardly for insertion into the container to be filled thereby to limit the volume of fluid that can be discharged into said container;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, partially fragmented, of a filler-valve constructed in accordance with this invention with the discharge port adjusted to its full up position, the valve being in a condition im mediately prior to operation; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, partially fragmented of the filler-valve illustrated in FIG. 2 in an operated condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT There may be seen with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing a container filler-valve l4 constructed in accordance with this invention. This filler-valve is adapted to fill containers 12 which may be positioned on a table 10. The table 10 may be a continuous belt, a rotary filling mechanism or any of the other wellknown types of the art. Whatever the mechanism, the filler-valve 14 is positioned above the containers l2 and the filler-valve is adapted to be actuated along its vertical axis into and out of each of the container 12 as either the containers or filler-valve is successively positioned in axial alignment with each other.

A drive arm is forked such that the forked ends 16 are formed to fit around the valve 14 and each of the forked ends 16 are slotted as at 22 to engage gudgeon pins 24 positioned on either side of the valve body. The drive arm itself is actuated by a prime mover, illustrated by the block 18 (FIG. 1) through a suitable mechanic linkage 20 which may be of any suitable type such as that described, for example, in the said Ayars patent. The particular drive used is not important to this invention.

The filler-valve 14 comprises an upper body section 26 and a lower body section 28 (FIG. 2). Each of these body sections preferably are hollow and cylindrical depending upon the type or shape of the container 12 and are connected together at their adjacent ends by a liquid seal which permits relative end-wise or axial movement of the

body sections

26 and 28. As is seen in the drawings, theupper section 26 has its lower end formed of reduced diameter and the upper end of the lower body section 28 is enlarged to pennit the upper section 26 to move axially into the upper portion of the lower section 28.

To provide a fluid tight seal between the two sections, the upper end of the lower section 28 is connected as by flexible diaphragm 30, which may be of rubber or any other suitable flexible material, arranged to span or bridge the annular space between the contiguous ends of the two body sections 26-28. The flexible annular diaphragm 30 may be attached to the two body sections by any suitable means but preferably such attachment should be one that is readily releasable to permit disassembly of the unit before cleaning and the like. To accomplish this, the lower end portion of the upper body section 26 is formed to have a reduced diameter, is threaded as at 32 and an axially opening slot 34 is formed therein. The diaphragm itself is in the form of an annulus with both the inner and outer peripheral portions formed with a rim or lip 36. The inner peripheral rim 36 is adapted to fit into the annular slot 34 and is retained therein by locking washers 40 which are threaded onto the threaded lower end 32 of the upper section.

In like manner, the attachment of the flexible diaphragm 30 to the lower section 28 is accomplished by threading the entire periphery of the lower section as at 32 and providing an annular locking cap 44 which has an internal opening or cavity capable of accommodating the lower end portion of the upper body section 26. The interior of the locking cap 44 is threaded to engage the threads 32 on the upper body section and its inner end face has an annular slot 46 formed therein to accommodate the outer peripheral lip 36 of the flexible diaphragm 30.

The lower body section 28 has its interior formed to be generally funnel-shaped with the mouth portion of the funnel. facing up (in the drawing) and the lower or spout portion 48 extending downwardly so as to be capable of being introduced into the containers 12. The spout portion 48 which forms the discharge port for the entire valve 14 is flared or chamfered downwardly and outwardly to provide a circular beveled valve seat 50 for cooperation with the circular head of a valve member 52 having a complementary beveled surface 54. The valve member 52 may be constructed of rubber, plastic or other suitable semi-resilient material and is in the form of an annular ring having a generally triangular cross-section so as to be positioned centrally upon and carried by the lower end of a hollow valve stem 56. In a preferred embodiment the valve member 52 is formed of stainless steel such that it has longer life. The valve stem 56 extends upwardly through both of the valve sections and through the guide stem 58 which is part of an end cap 60 which is threadedly engaged to the upper portion of the upper body section 26. The upper body section 26 has an upper portion of reduced diameter to accommodate an annular sealing diaphragm 62 which may be used to seal the entire valve in the bottom of a reservoir or other suitable supply container and yet permit the valve to move axially along an axis, the section of the filler-valve above diaphragm 62 thus being within the reservoir (not shown) and the valve stem 56 extending through the liquid therein to be always above the liquid level. The annular sealing diaphragm 62 for the filler-valve 14 is positioned about the upper body section 26 between two seal rings 64 which are held in position about the diaphragm 62 by the end cap 60. An inlet port 66 is formed in the end cap so as to permit fluid from the reservoir (not shown) to enter into the interior of the filler-valve 14. A lower locking collar 68 is secured about the valve stem 56 by a set screw 57 to limit the upward axial movement of the valve stem. A compression spring 72, positioned about the valve stem 56 between the lower locking collar 68 and the underside of the end cap 60, maintains the valve stem biased downwardly such that the valve member 52 remains fixed vertically and permits the valve to open when the valve is actuated as will be described hereinafter. Downward motion of the valve stem 56 is limited by a set screw 61 which cooperates with the upper end face of the guide stem which has a cam-like surface 63. The high portion of the cam-like surface 63 is formed with a slot 65 to receive the set screw 61 and thereby prevent the valve stem from rotating. If the valve stem 56 is lifted against the force of the compression spring 72 and rotated such that the set screw 61 is allowed to slide into the trough of the cam-like surface 63, the valve member 52 is lowered away from the valve seat 50 to facilitate cleaning and repair.

The intermediate lower portion of the upper body section 56 is flanged as at 74 to accommodate an offset grommet 76 which has a stepped portion 78 for holding one end of a compression spring 80. The lower end of the compression spring is held in accordance with this invention by a locking nut 82 which also has a stepped portion 84 for receiving the lower end of the spring 80. The locking nut 82 co-operates with an annular lower end cap 86 for the lower body section 28 which end cap houses a sealing disc 94. The lower end cap 86 and the locking nut 82 are threadedly engaged to the exterior threads 42 of the lower body section 28. The end cap 86 has a stepped extension portion 88 complementary to the stepped portion 82 of the locking nut to allow it to be withdrawn from the threads of the lower body section 28 to a relatively great distance. The face of the end cap 86 has a peripheral or outer rim portion 92 which is inwardly turned to provide a retaining slot for the sealing disc 94. The sealing disc 94 may be either flat or as described in the said Ayars patent, have its outer peripheral portion cup-shaped with an upwardly extending rim portion so that the major portion of the flat sealing disc is out of contact with the lower face 92 of the end cap 86. This provides a soft, yieldable, resilient seal 94 which aids in compensating for any unevenness of the rim of the container and filling any voids caused by such distortion, bending or canting of the rim of the container. Both the end cap 86 and sealing disc 94 are annular to permit them to be positioned axially along the exterior of the spout 48 as the end cap is screwed on or off of the threads 42 of the lower body section 48. Further, both the locking nut 82 and the end cap 86 have indents 100 to accommodate a locking key to aid in tightening the locking nut against the end cap. Most of the parts of the valve are formed of stainless steel, which is generally preferred for food processing application, however, other suitable materials may be used as desired.

In its rest or unactuated position under the bias of the compression springs 72 and the valve is in the position as shown in FIG. 2. The drive arm 16 is in the upper (in the drawing) position, the valve is closed and the interior of the filler-valve 14 is filled with fluid derived from the reservoir or other supply through the port 66 and the lower sealing diaphragm 30 is distended upwardly to the extent permitted by its flexibility and its resiliency. In like manner, the upper sealing diaphragm 62 is distended upwardly into the reservoir, relative to the floor of the reservoir by the upwardly (not shown) biased movement of the filler-valve 14 by the drive arm 16. Now a container 12 is positioned under the valve and the drive arm 16 is moved by the prime mover 18 downwardly (in the drawing) as denoted by the arrow 98 (FIG. 3) by automatic machinery of known type. With the downward movement of the arm 16, the upper body section 26 is moved downwardly (in the drawing). This movement continues with the seal member 94 making contact with the rim of the container 12. As the downward movement of the filler-valve 14 occurs the upper flexible diaphragm 62 becomes distended downwardly with respect to the reservoir floor, as is apparent from FIG. 3, and, as the resiliency of the seal 94 is accommodated and the rim of the container 12 makes a firm contact with the end face 90 of the end cap, the lower compression spring 80 becomes compressed as the lower body section 28 ceases its downward movement. At this point in time the upper body section 26 moves axially downward into the cavity of the lower body section with the lower diaphragm 30 becoming distended downwardly (FIG. 3). This downward movement of the upper body section 26 causes the valve stem 56, because of the compression spring 72 urging the valve stem 56 downwardly, to open the valve and permit the fluid to be discharged continuously until the fluid has reached the level of the lips of the spout 48.(air escapes from the interior of the container through the hollow valve stem). Once the level of the lips is reached, fluid passage stops. No more fluid can enter the container for no more air can escape.

The drive arm 16 now reverses direction and lifts the filler-valve 14 away from the container 12 such that the discharge port is again closed by the valve member 52 due to the action of the compression spring 80 moving the lower body section 28 back to the position shown in FIG. 2 with the valve seat 50 securely engaging the valve member 52.

In accordance with this invention the degree of fluid dispensed in the container is readily changed by the adjustment of the locking nut 82 and the end cap 86. To dispense less fluid into the container, than would be the case for the adjustment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the end cap 86 and locking nut 82 need be disengaged and screwed more deeply onto the threaded lower body section 28 such that the spout portion 48 extends down below the end cap as is seen most clearly in FIG. 1. The locking nut 82 is then tightened against the end cap 86 using a key if necessary. New adjustments are quickly and readily made without having to disassemble, disengage or significantly stop work except for a short period of time necessary to loosen the locking nut, adjust the end cap 86 and tighten the locking nut.

There has thus been described a relatively simple, filler-valve which is readily adjustable to accommodate dispensing different volumes of fluid into a container.

The adjustment mechanism requires only two integral parts, both of which are simply made.

It is obvious that many embodiments may be made of this inventive concept and that many modifications may be made in the embodiments hereinbefore described. Therefore, it is to be understood that all descriptive matter herein is to be interpreted as merely illustrative, exemplary and not in a limited sense. It is intended that various modifications which might readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art be covered, as far as the prior art permits.

What is claimed is:

1. In a filler valve for use with a filler machine for filling a container which valve is adapted to be mounted on said filler machine for substantially vertical movement with respect to said machine into and out of engagement with a container to be filled, comprising a valve-body having upper and lower communicating sections connected together at their adjacent ends by a flexible sealing wall so as to have relative movement toward and from each other, biasing means normally tending to distend said sections, the upper section having filling material inlets therein, the lower section having a port in its bottom end, a valve member for said port and positioned to move outwardly of said port to open the same, a valve stem carried by said valve member and extending through said valve-body, biasing means normally tending to move said valve member to close said port, and means on the valve stem positioned to be engaged by the said upper section during the relative movement of said sections against their bias whereby to open said valve member, the combination with the lower section of the valve body sealing means comprising an annular flange-like member threadedly engaged to said lower section, whereby rotation of said annular member permits the positioning of said annular member axially of said lower section, thereby to adjust the distance with which said port can extend into said container for controlling by dis placement the volume of material to be deposited therein.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said annular member has an inwardly extending annular end face surrounding said discharge port.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 which also includes a resilient annular gasket mounted on said annular members end face and adapted to engage the rim of said container to be filled.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said lower section defines a funnel-like cavity having a terminal elongated section defining said port.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 which also includes a locking collar threaded on the exterior of said lower section and adapted to engage frictionally said annular flange-like member, thereby to secure said flange-like member in its selected position on said lower section.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 which also includes a locking collar threaded on the exterior of said outlet section and adapted to engage frictionally said annular flange-like member, thereby to secure said flange-like member in its selected axial position on said annular member.

Claims

1. In a filler valve for use with a filler machine for filling a container which valve is adapted to be mounted on said filler machine for substantially vertical movement with respect to said machine into and out of engagement with a container to be filled, comprising a valve-body having upper and lower communicating sections connected together at their adjacent ends by a flexible sealing wall so as to have relative movement toward and from each other, biasing means normally tending to distend said sections, the upper section having filling material inlets therein, the lower section having a port in its bottom end, a valve member for said port and positioned to move outwardly of said port to open the same, a valve stem carried by said valve member and extending through said valve-body, biasing means normally tending to move said valve member to close said port, and means on the valve stem positioned to be engaged by the said upper section during the relative movement of said sections against their bias whereby to open said valve member, the combination with the lower section of the valve body sealing means comprising an annular flange-like member threadedly engaged to said lower section, whereby rotation of said annular member permits the positioning of said annular member axially of said lower section, thereby to adjust the distance with which said port can extend into sAid container for controlling by displacement the volume of material to be deposited therein.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 which also includes a resilient annular gasket mounted on said annular member''s end face and adapted to engage the rim of said container to be filled.