JPH02219702A - Fixed volume filler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out fixed volume filling even of a fluid which changes with the time passed in the volume thereof and is apt to drip due to a high viscosity by arranging a pressure meter at the fluid inlet of a fixed volume transferring pump or at a liquid feed chamber to detect the pressure of the fluid, and by regulating the revolution of the fixed volume transferring pump, based on the measured result. CONSTITUTION:A fluid is charged in a container 1 from a charging nozzle 9 by a pump 2 via a liquid inlet 8 and a liquid feed chamber 11 from a filling tank 10. As the fixed volume transferring pump, a mono-axial eccentric pump 2 is used and a pressure meter 4 is arranged at the fluid inlet 8 and further the signals thereof are converted by a pressure converter 5 to output signals to a controller 7 for the regulation of revolution of a pulse-motor 3 in a controller 6, basing on the measured result. Therefore, even if the volume of the fluid changes, the fluid can be contained by a fixed volume and after discharging the fluid is sucked into the pump by the reverse revolution of the pump to prevent dripping of the fluid for a further fixed volume charging.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is capable of filling containers with fluids such as beverages, pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages, gelled products, as well as highly concentrated liquids, highly viscous liquids, solid-containing liquids, and gas-containing liquids. This relates to a quantitative filling device used for.

(Prior art) Conventionally, filling a fixed amount of fluid in a fluid filling machine is an important factor in yield control, and a measuring cylinder for fluid is attached to a filling nozzle. A method of filling the tank with fluid was implemented.

However, fixed-quantity filling devices that use cylinder metering require a larger filling mechanism for each cylinder and have a complicated structure, making them unsuitable for meeting high quality demands such as sterilization. Those who do this are accepted.

For those that use a flow meter, the filling amount tends to fluctuate depending on the performance of the filling pulp in the filling nozzle. To improve this, we fill the pulp at a high flow rate at the initial filling time, and change the pulp flow rate to a small flow rate when it approaches the specified amount. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 151695/1983 proposes a method for quantitative filling. In addition, uniaxial eccentric bombs have been used for the purpose of compacting the filling section of a filling machine to improve metering performance and to prevent fluctuations in the filling amount.

A uniaxial eccentric bomb generates a pumping action by rotating a male-threaded rotor with a perfect circular cross section at an eccentric center using a female-threaded stator Y with an oval cross-section and made of an elastic material. The above-mentioned filling pump for measuring the filling amount is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 56-69518, 62-168806, and 62-269771.

The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 56-69518 detects the number of revolutions of a pump and controls the filling valve;
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 168806 excludes the filling pulp on the discharge side of the filling pump, and
The device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 69771 utilizes a variable speed motor as a driving device for a filling pump.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In those using the above-mentioned flowmeter, there are fluctuations in the filling amount due to the fluid flowing during the opening and closing operations of the pulp, and therefore pulp performance is important, and the properties of the fluid Fluctuations in the filling amount are unavoidable due to changes in the fluid flow rate due to changes in the fluid flow rate and changes in the flow rate due to changes in the internal pressure of the filling tank.
Even if it is disclosed in the above publication, a device that operates under constant conditions cannot cope with changes in the fluid over time or changes in the fluid.

Particularly when the fluid contains solids, the contained solids may be crushed or destroyed or become stuck in the pulp.

Furthermore, in the case of a fluid containing bubbles, the volume of the fluid fluctuates as the pressure applied to the fluid changes, making it impossible to fill the fluid quantitatively by a simple measuring method.

In addition, highly viscous fluids have poor liquid drainage at the nozzle opening, causing dripping, which contaminates the container, resulting in poor sealing and unstable dosage.

-In the case of an eccentric shaft pump, the filling part of the filling machine can be made compact to improve metering performance, and damage to the properties of various fluids can be kept to a minimum. As seen in each publication, none has achieved quantitative control in response to changes in fluid volume or prevention of liquid dripping at the filling port.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide a quantitative filling device that can perform quantitative filling even in fluids whose volume changes over time and which are highly viscous and prone to dripping. It is something to do.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides the following quantitative filling device.

The first method is to install a pressure measuring device that detects the pressure of the fluid in the fluid inlet or liquid supply chamber of the metering pump in a quantitative filling device that performs metered filling using a metering transfer pump, and based on the measurement result. This quantitative filling device is equipped with a control device for controlling the rotation speed of a metering transfer pump.

By using the above-mentioned device, it is possible to fill the fluid in a fixed amount in response to changes in the volume of the fluid. The second method is a quantitative filling device, which is a pump that is configured to be reversely rotated via a control device during filling of fluid to suck into the pump an amount of fluid equivalent to the amount of fluid dripping, which is highly viscous and causes dripping. Even easy fluids can be filled in a fixed quantity. In the case of fluids containing air bubbles, the air bubbles may be destroyed by negative pressure; A third means is to provide a device for conveying the fluid under pressure in front of the fluid inlet so that the pressure of the fluid does not fall below atmospheric pressure.

However, a pulse motor or a servo motor is used as a driving device for the above-mentioned metering transfer pump, and by using a uniaxial eccentric bomb in the metering pump, even fluids containing bubbles or solids can be transferred. The outer peripheral wall of the stator part, which houses the pump rotor, is
Aseptic filling is possible by supplying or sealing off a disinfectant or steam into the space.

Further, by disposing pulp or a mesh body in the filling opening after the discharge port of the uniaxial eccentric pump, it is possible to provide a quantitative filling device that can prevent dripping even in low viscosity fluids.

(Function) According to the present invention, the pressure of the fluid is detected by the pressure measuring device installed in the liquid supply chamber of the metering transfer pump or the fluid inlet, and the rotation speed of the pump is controlled and the volume of the fluid is changed. Quantitative filling is also possible. Further, after discharging a fixed amount, the pump is rotated in the opposite direction to suck the fluid into the pump to prevent dripping and further enable fixed amount filling.

Furthermore, by pressurizing the fluid conveying pressure within the pump so that it does not fall below atmospheric pressure, it is possible to prevent the bubbles of the bubble-containing fluid from being destroyed and to enable fixed-quantity filling.

The rotation of the pump as described above can be controlled in forward and reverse directions by using a pulse motor 1 or a servo motor, and by using a uniaxial eccentric pump as a metering pump, it is possible to crush solids even in fluids containing solids. Quantitative filling can be performed without damage, and the stator section that houses the rotor of the single-shaft eccentric pump has a double structure, and by sealing in a sterilizer or supplying steam, sterile filling can be performed as well as quantitative filling.

In addition, in the case of a low viscosity fluid, dripping can be prevented by attaching pulp or a mesh to the filling port of a single-shaft eccentric pump, and it is possible to perform fixed-quantity filling.

(Example) The embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.

Figure 1 is a flow sheet showing the filling mechanism, Figure 2 is a diagram of the filling mechanism using a single-shaft eccentric pump (mono pump) as a metering pump, Figure 3 is an operation diagram of the filling pump, and Figure 4 is a diagram of the single-shaft eccentric pump. Each shows a cross-sectional view.

Fluid is filled from the filling tank (10) through the fluid inlet (8) and the liquid supply chamber (11) into the container (1) from the filling nozzle (9) by the pump (2).

A single-shaft eccentric pump (2) is used as a metering pump, a pressure measuring device (4) is provided at the fluid inlet (8), this signal is converted by a pressure transducer (5), and a control device (6) is used. ), a signal is output from the measured value to a controller (7) that controls the rotation of the pulse motor (3).

As shown in Fig. 4, the uniaxial eccentric pump (2) operates by rotating a male-threaded rotor (12) with a perfect circular cross section at the eccentric center using a female-threaded stator (13) with an oval cross-section and made of an elastic material. The rotor (
12) is driven by the motor (3) via the coupling part (15). The liquid supply chamber (11) refers to a portion of this connecting portion (15), and a pressure measuring device (4) may also be installed in this portion.

As described above, the present invention is characterized by controlling the rotational speed of the pump using fluid pressure. For example, in a filling machine for filling whipped cream, air bubbles are contained in overrun whipped cream. The volume of these bubbles changes depending on the fluid delivery pressure, and the filling amount fluctuates.

Therefore, in order to keep the filling amount in the container constant after filling, it is necessary to change the rotational speed of the pump in accordance with the constantly changing fluid pressure to cope with changes in volume that change depending on the pressure.

A fluid containing bubbles at a pressure P is sent by a metering pump that pumps a volume q of fluid per rotation, and the volume when it exits from the nozzle into the atmosphere at a pressure P0 is V, and the volume of gas contained in this is All. , liquid volume and porosity ρ. =Ao/(
Ao +L), it can be approximately expressed as.

The amount (volume) Q of filling a container at one time is 1 when the total number of revolutions of the pump is N, and Q = V - N. To keep Q constant, P must be measured, and the total number of revolutions of the pump is set so that Just control it.

If P fluctuates during filling, it is sufficient to integrate (2) over time and stop the pump immediately before or after reaching Q.

As described above, the rotation speed of the pump is controlled by detecting the pressure of the fluid, but in the present invention, by measuring the pressure at the fluid inlet, (1) sudden pressure of the fluid due to forward or reverse rotation of the filling machine can be detected. It is possible to adjust weight fluctuations due to fluctuations in pressure loss due to fluctuations or changes in the physical properties of the fluid.

(2) When the fluid contains air bubbles, the contained air volume changes due to the pressure fluctuation in (1), and the total volume of the fluid changes, so it is possible to adjust the amount by controlling the rotation speed.

In the present invention, the pump is reversely rotated after dispensing a fixed amount in the above-mentioned metered filling device to suck the fluid into the pump to prevent dripping, thereby preventing fluid from dripping due to volume fluctuations or adhesion of fluid to the head wall of the filling container. Seal defects can be prevented. FIG. 3 shows its operating state, and the dotted line shows the case where the pressure becomes high.

Therefore, by using a pulse motor or a servo motor to control the rotation of the pump, and using a single-axis eccentric pump as a metering pump, it can be applied to fluids such as high concentration liquids, high viscosity liquids, solid-containing liquids, gas-containing liquids, etc. This makes it possible to create a quantitative filling device that can be used in a wide range of applications.

However, the stator (1
By making the outer circumferential wall of 3) double and supplying or sealing the space (14) with a sterilizer or steam, aseptic filling can be performed together with quantitative filling, and the filling nozzle ( 9) can be connected to the pump outlet, which can reduce the amount of contaminated parts, especially when filling aseptically.

In addition, in the case of aseptic filling, steam is not used as a sterilization method for items that involve thermal denaturation.

In addition, in the case of a uniaxial eccentric pump, there is a gap between the rotor (12) and the stator (13), and even if the rotor (12) is stopped, fluid leaks through the space volume and causes dripping. Particularly in the case of bottom viscous fluids, pulp or mesh can be placed in the filling opening to prevent fluid leakage.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, even liquids whose volume changes over time and which are highly viscous and tend to drip can be filled in a fixed quantity by sequential metering control.

According to the first aspect of the invention, even when the pressure of a fluid containing gas fluctuates, the volume fluctuation is detected by pressure detection, and the rotation of the filling pump is automatically controlled, so that quantitative performance is good.

According to the invention of claim 2, by sucking the fluid into the filling pump to prevent dripping, it is possible to eliminate contamination of the fluid due to external factors and pulp, etc. that easily cause contamination, and to prevent the container from dripping. Quantitative filling is possible without contamination and seal failure.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the bubbles of the bubble-containing fluid from being destroyed, and it is also possible to perform quantitative filling.

In addition, a pulse motor 1 is used as a driving device for the metering transfer pump.
Alternatively, by using a servo motor, it is possible to finely control the disassembly of the capacity and control the rotational speed, making it easy to adjust the filling speed in response to pressure fluctuations.

In addition, by using a uniaxial eccentric bomb as a metering pump, solids will not be destroyed when filling fluids containing solids, and the metering pump can be used in a wide range of applications, from low viscosity fluids to high viscosity fluids and solids-containing fluids. A filling device can be obtained.

As a result, the stator part can be used as an aseptic filling machine by having a double structure in which a sterilizing agent can be sealed or steam can be supplied, and in the case of low viscosity fluids, pulp or a mesh can be attached to the filling port to prevent liquid dripping.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a flow sheet showing the filling mechanism, Figure 2 is a diagram of the filling mechanism using a uniaxial eccentric bomb as a metering pump, Figure 3 is an operation diagram of the filling pump, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the uniaxial eccentric pump. It is. (1)...Filling container (2)...Single-shaft eccentric pump (3)...Servo or pulse motor (4)...
...Pressure measuring device (5) ...Pressure transducer (6) ...Control device (7) ...Motor controller (8)
...Fluid inlet (9) ...Filling nozzle (10) ...Filling tank (11) ...Liquid supply chamber (12) ...Rotor (13) ...Statement procedure amendment (Restraint 1. Indication of the case 1999 Patent Application No. 30160 2, Name of the invention Quantitative filling device 3, Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant address Higashi-ku, Sapporo City Naebo-cho 6-1-1 Name (66
9) Katsuya Masano, President and CEO of Snow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd. 4, Agent 102-8 Contents of amendment (1) Amend the specification to read "56" on page 3, line 18. (2) Correct the number “56” on page 5, line 5 of the specification. 162” “62” 5. Date of amendment order Voluntary

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) In a quantitative filling device that performs quantitative filling using a quantitative transfer pump, a pressure measuring device that detects the pressure of the fluid is placed at the fluid inlet of the quantitative transfer pump or in the liquid supply chamber, and based on this measurement result, quantitative transfer is performed. A quantitative filling device characterized by being equipped with a control device for controlling the rotation speed of a pump. (2) In the quantitative filling device according to claim 1, the metering transfer pump is a pump capable of forward and reverse rotation, and the pump is also reversely rotated via a control device during filling of fluid to fill the pump with an amount of fluid corresponding to the dripping. A quantitative filling device is a pump configured to be able to aspirate. (3) The quantitative filling device according to claim 1, further comprising a device for conveying the fluid under pressure before the fluid inlet so that the pressure of the fluid at the inlet of the metering transfer pump does not fall below atmospheric pressure. (4) The quantitative filling device according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein the driving device for the metering transfer pump is a pulse motor or a servo motor. (5) Claim 1, wherein the metering transfer pump is a single-shaft eccentric pump.
, 2, 3, and 4. (6) Possible claim for aseptic filling in which the outer circumferential wall of the stator part in which the rotor of the uniaxial eccentric pump is housed is formed into a double structure so that disinfectant or steam can be supplied or sealed in that space. Item 5. Quantitative filling device. (7) The fixed-quantity filling device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a pulp or a mesh body is disposed at the filling opening after the discharge port of the uniaxial eccentric pump.