WO1994026651A1

WO1994026651A1 - Valve support assembly

Info

Publication number: WO1994026651A1
Application number: PCT/NZ1994/000043
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bruce Robert Cross; Gordon James Anthony
Original assignee: Taura Natural Foods Co-Operative Limited
Priority date: 1993-05-10
Filing date: 1994-05-10
Publication date: 1994-11-24
Also published as: AU6584594A

Abstract

A valve support assembly (1) is shown in the figure having a main body portion (2) with an inner chamber (3) which can be connected with a valve (not shown). An upper body portion (8) includes an inner chamber (10). The chambers (3 and 10) can be sterilised by steam or other material. A pair of clamps (25) are operated by a respective cam (23) to engage about the rim of a bung (18) of a container (19). An enlarged end (16) of a shaft (14) can be engaged with the bung (18) to rotate and lift same so as to provide access into the container (19). The length of the chamber (3) is no greater than the length of the chamber (10) so that the travel of the shaft (14) in raising the bung (18) to the top of the chamber (3) will not result in any of the shaft (14) being exposed outside of the sterilised chamber (10). A magnet provided for the end (16) may assist in holding the bung (18).

Description

VALVE SUPPORT ASSEMBLY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to valve support assemblies and particularly those for use with aseptic drum mountable valve arrangements and in particular to a valve support assembly facilitating the aseptic movement of a material into or from a drum or other container.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

There are numerous instances particularly in the area of food products, where bacterial contamination must be avoided and the transfer of the products into and from containers for transport or storage provides a distinct possibility of bacterial contamination occurring.

The present invention therefore has as its object, the providing of a valve support assembly which will facilitate the aseptic transfer of material through a valve and into and from an associated container. Further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is therefore provided a valve support assembly comprising:-

(i) Container mounting means to enable the assembly to be mounted on a container;

(ii) Valve mounting means to enable a valve to be provided for the assembly;

(iii)Material inlet and outlet means whereby in use material can flow between said container and said valve;

(iv) A control member to provide controlled access into said container in use;

(v) Sterilising means enabling the portions of said assembly which could come into contact with material flowing therethrough to be sterilised and wherein the length of a sterilisable area through which said control member passes is no less than the length of movement of said control member in providing said access.

Further aspects of this invention which should be considered in all its novel aspects will become apparent from the following description given by way of example of possible embodiments thereof and in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings:-

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1t shows diagrammatically an isometric view of a valve support assembly according to one possible embodiment of the invention and with the cam levers in their closed/clamped position;

Figure 2: shows a side view of the valve support assembly of Figure 1 with the cam levers in their open/unclamped position;

Figure 3: shows very diagrammatically a side cross- sectional view of the valve support assembly of the preceding figures with the cam levers in their open/unclamped position when mounted about a drum opening;

Figure 4; shows very diagrammatically the valve support assembly of Figure 3, but with the container bung having now been released and lifted up and the cam levers in their closed/clamped position; and.

Figure 5: shows diagrammatically an underneath exploded view of the valve support assembly of the preceding figure in combination with part of a container and its bung, in exploded view. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As mentioned previously there are many instances where material transfer in and out of a container needs to be done aseptically so that the risk of contamination is eliminated or at least substantially reduced. Where food products are involved, even minimal bacterial contamination can be disastrous, both for a particular consignment but also for the reputation of the food producer.

The problem of course is that in order to have material entering or leaving a container, the container must be opened, and it is then that the risk of contamination is greatest.

The present invention has therefore been developed, in order to facilitate the aseptic transfer of material to and from a container. The invention will be described hereinafter in respect of a container in the form of a large drum, having again by way of example only, a closure in the form of a threaded bung. It is mentioned here that in filling or discharging a container, there is a need to allow for air replacement or air discharge and for this purpose, a container will have a secondary opening, which will also need to be opened and protected. For simplicity, the present invention will be described in respect only of the protection of one of the container openings, but it is to be appreciated that appropriate protection will also be required for the second and any other openings that may be provided.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a valve support assembly is referenced generally by arrow 1 and is shown provided with a main body portion 2 which defines an inner chamber 3. The chamber 3 is connected with an inlet/outlet 4 which may suitably have a threaded end 5 to accommodate a suitable valve (not shown) to be connected with the assembly 1. An inlet 6 for sterilising steam is, in this embodiment, shown provided for the inlet/outlet 4 and a sterilising steam outlet 7 (see Figure 2) is shown provided for the main body portion 2.

An upper body portion 8 is shown connected to the main body portion 2 by means of screws or the like 9. A chamber 10 is shown defined in the interior of the upper body portion 8 sealed off from the lower chamber 3 by means of seals, such as "0" rings 11 and provided with additional sealing means such as "0" rings 12 and 13. A shaft 14 with an operating lever or handle 15 is shown extending through the chamber 10, past the sealing means 11, to an enlarged end portion 16 which is shown in greater detail in Figure 5, to which reference is made later on. A locking means 17 is shown provided as an upper part of the body portion 8 for the purpose of clamping the shaft 14 at a required position, particularly so that the shaft 14 can be held in its raised position after it has released the bung or the like 18 from the container 19. The locking means 17 is shown in the form of a rod or pin which can be released when required to be moved and locked into engagement with the shaft 14.

Retention of the shaft 14 in its raised position is also desirable during sterilisation procedures as will become apparent from the subsequent description.

A pair of shafts 20 are shown extending through bushes or bearings 21. Provided on each shaft 20 are cams 23, which act on a segmented clamp arrangement 25, see Figure 5 particularly.

Referring particularly to Figures 3, 4 and 5, the clamp arrangement 25 is seen to comprise a pair of arcuate clamps 25 between which are respective gaps 26. As the cams 23 are rotated to their respective operative positions, the clamps 25 will be closed up and in doing so, will clamp about the rim 27 of the opening into the container 19. The clamps 25, as shown particularly in Figures 3 and 4, may have an inwardly directed bevel 28, which can engage beneath the rim 27, so as to provide a _ _η _

positive clamping force tending to act upwardly on the rim 27 and provide a firm support for the assembly 1, as the container filling and/or emptying operations are effected. A seal 29 is shown provided about the bottom end of the body 2 to engage with the lip on the upper part of the rim 27 and provide a seal therewith as the clamping forces are applied.

The upper end of the cam shafts 20 are shown provided with a respective lever 30 which can be operated so as to move the clamps 25 into their clamped or undamped position. In the clamped position, such as shown in Figures 1 and 4, the levers 30 can be held in that position against accidental disengagement by respective latches or locks 31 which can be engaged over the respective levers 30. The members 31 are shown pivoted on respective abutments 32 which act as stop members identifying the clamping position of the levers 30.

When in the clamping position shown in Figures 1 and 4, the levers 30 can therefore be locked in position and the shaped clamping ring, made up of the respective clamping members 25, will provide a clamping force about the container opening rim 27. In the clamped position, there will suitably still be the gaps 26 between the respective clamping members 25 which will provide a tolerance allowing for some adjustment of the clamping — o ^—

members 25 as they move into their clamping position, so as to accommodate any distortion or unevenness about the rim 27. The bushes 21 will however preferably be eccentric so that they can also be used to adjust the tolerance of the clamps 25. The use of oppositely positioned cams 23 can allow for a balancing of tension forces about the rim 27, so as to facilitate an effective clamping force about the rim 27. As the cams 25 are preferably symmetrical about their respective axes, the same amount of clamping force will be generated on both sides of the rim 27. The cams 25 may however in one embodiment be be slightly over-centre in order to facilitate clamping and unclamping.

It is mentioned that prior to the support assembly 1 being clamped to the container 19, the container with its bung 18 may have been sterilised and typically in the case of an empty container 19, the sterilisation may have been achieved by placement in an oven for 10 minutes or longer at a suitable temperature.

An aseptic closed valve may now be secured in position on the inlet/outlet 4 and with the shaft 14 in its raised position as shown in Figure 3, sterilising material, typically steam at a temperature of about 120°C will be caused to fill and sterilise chamber 10 through steam inlet 33 and steam outlet 34 and will be _ _g _

similarly caused to fill and sterilise main chamber 3, through steam inlet 6 and steam outlet 7.

The sterilisation by use of the steam or other suitable material will therefore be sterilising both the chamber 10 and chamber 3, as well as all surfaces associated with those chambers including the exposed surfaces of the bung 18 and rim 27 and of inlet/outlet 4 up to the valve (not shown) .

The handle 15 can now be operated so as to move the shaft 14 downwardly so that its bottom end 16, shown with a pair of recesses 35, can be engaged about the lugs 36 of the bung 18 and so that rotation of the shaft 14 by the handle 15 will then unscrew the bung 18 from its threaded engagement with the rim 27. A magnetic arrangement, shown as a rectangular magnet 37, but which could be round or any other shape, can be provided for the end 16 so that once the bung 18 has been released from engagement with the rim 27 (instructions will generally be provided for an operator, as to how many turns of the handle 15 are required to ensure release) , the magnetic attraction of the bung 18 by the magnet 37 will enable the bung 18 to be lifted up with the end 16 as the shaft 14 is raised. As shown in Figure 4, in its fully raised position, the bung 18 will be held in the upper part of the chamber 3 so as to be distant from the now open entry into the container 19. Of particular importance is that the distance between the seals 11 and 12 is no less than and is preferably greater than the distance that the shaft 14 has travelled vertically in raising the bung 18 to the position shown in Figure 4. What this means is that in order to return the bung 18 into its closed position on the container 19, there will be no unsterilised shaft 14 which will need to enter the chamber 10 and so that the possibility of contamination entering the chamber 10 after its initial sterilisation by means of bacteria on the outside part of the shaft 14 has been avoided.

With the bung 18 in this raised position, the required material can fill or be emptied from the container 19 through the valve, the locking system 17 on the shaft 14 preventing its accidental lowering during a filling/emptying operation.

A flow meter may suitably detect when the container is full or empty, but the sterilising of the upper chamber 10 has, as previously mentioned, allowed for sequential filling/emptying operations with the ability of the bung 18 to be closed and re-opened without the need for a re-sterilisation procedure.

Nitrogen purging of the material flow lines and the interior of the support assembly 1 may be provided and nitrogen may be used to displace oxygen from above, and _ _n _

possibly within, the material in the container 19. Vacuum may also be applied so as to remove or at least substantially reduce the amount of oxygen in the container 19 and for particularly sensitive food products, an oxygen detector could be utilised to ensure that all oxygen had been eliminated. Sterilising materials other than steam could also be used.

As mentioned earlier, a similar valve support assembly 1 will generally be utilised for the additional opening into the container 19 through which sterilised air or gas can pass to replace discharged material, or through which air can pass, as it is eliminated from the container 19 as it is filled.

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to specific components or integers of the invention having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although this invention has been described by way of example and with reference to possible embodiments thereof it is to be understood that modifications or improvements may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A valve support assembly comprising:

(ii) valve mounting means to enable a valve to be provided for the assembly;

(iii) material inlet and outlet means whereby in use material can flow between the said container and said valve;

(iv) a control member to provide controlled access into said container in use;

2. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sterilisable area comprises a lower chamber positioned between said material inlet and outlet means, said control member comprising a shaft moveable within both said lower chamber and an upper chamber which is also sterilisable, the length of said upper chamber being greater than said length of movement of said shaft.

3. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shaft has at a lower end thereof an engagement means which can in use engage with and remove into said lower chamber a closure member of said container.

4. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said engagement means includes a holding means to, in use, hold said closure member as it is raised upwardly within said lower chamber in providing said access into said container.

5. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein said holding means comprises a magnet means to magnetically attract said closure member in use.

6. A valve support assembly as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein a locking means can releasably lock said control member in a raised position at which it is providing said access into said container.

7. A valve support assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said container mounting means comprises a clamping means operable so as to sealingly engage about an opening into said container in use.

8. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein said clamping means comprises at least a pair of clamp members each operatively associated with a cam means operable to move said clamp member into engagement about said opening.

9. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 8 wherein each said cam means comprises a cam member provided on a rotatable shaft with each said clamp member being mounted about a respective cam member so as to be also moveable with said shaft.

10. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein each said rotatable shaft extends through respective eccentric bush means to enable the operative adjustment of said clamp members.

11. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 10 wherein each said rotatable shaft is operable by a lever, locking means being provided so as to lock said lever when said clamp member is in its position engaged about said opening.

12. A valve support assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein each said clamp member includes a bevelled edge which is adapted in use to engage about a rim provided about said opening of said container.

13. A valve support assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.