JPH0255314B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a filling device for gas-filled beverages that can be made into a filling device suitable for gas-free beverage filling by removing some parts and attaching other parts. The present invention relates to a filling device.

When filling containers with carbonated beverages, pressure (counterpressure) is applied to prevent carbon dioxide from separating from the liquid.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a conventional counterpressure type liquid filling device, in which 1 is a filler bowl, 2 is on a valve body fixed to the bottom surface of the filler bowl 1, and 3 is on a valve body 2. Below the fixed valve body, numeral 4 is a vacuum chamber formed on the valve body 2, which is connected to a vacuum source and through a pre-evaporation valve 5 to a passage 6.
The passage 6 opens into a lower liquid flow passage 7 in the lower valve body 3. 8 is a snift chamber formed on the valve body 2, and is connected to the passage 6 via a snift valve 9. Numeral 10 is a valve operating lever for operating the pre-evaluator valve 5 and the sniff valve 9, and is rotated by known means to operate both the valves 5 and 9 at a predetermined time.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a spring case that is integrated with the upper and lower parts of the valve body, and has many holes for liquid to flow downward. A stem 12 is supported by the spring case 11 so as to be able to move up and down, and has a valve part 13 that constitutes a liquid valve with the lower valve body 3, and has a gas passage 14 inside, so that the liquid in the filler bowl 1 can be It protrudes above the surface. 15 is a vent tube screwed to the bottom of the stem 12, with a float 1 at the bottom.
Holds 6. 17 is a spring that urges the stem upward; 18 is a gas valve that opens and closes the gas passage 14 within the stem 12; 19 is a gas valve operating member;
20 is a gas valve 18 and a gas valve operating member 19
21 is a spring interposed between the gas valve operating member 19 and the upper part of the stem 12; 22 is a valve operating lever attached to the side wall of the filler bowl 1; It is rotated by means to open and close the gas valve 18 and also to open and close the liquid valve as will be described later. 23 is a centering guide that guides the vertical movement of the container.

Next, to explain the operation, the container is raised by a lifter (not shown), and the centering guide 2
While being guided by 3, it comes into elastic contact with the lower part of the valve body 2,
Go up until you reach the top position of the lifter.

In this state, the pre-evaporation valve 5 is pushed in, and the inside of the container is communicated with the vacuum chamber 4 through the passage 6, so that the air inside the container is sucked out.

Next, the pre-evaluator valve 5 is closed, the valve operating lever 22 is rotated, and the gas valve operating member 19 is rotated.
, the gas valve 18 is opened and the counter-pressurized gas in the filler bowl 1 is supplied into the container via the gas passage 14 in the stem 12 and the vent tube 15 . When the inside of the container is counter-pressurized to the same pressure as the inside of the filler bowl 1, the stem 12 is raised by the action of the spring 17, so that the liquid valve is opened and filling of the liquid is started.

When the liquid level in the container rises and the float 16 is raised to close the opening of the vent tube 15, the gas in the container stops being discharged, so filling of the liquid is stopped.
In this state, the valve operating lever 22 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, closing the gas valve 18 and pushing down the stem 12 to close the liquid valve.

Next, the sniff valve 9 is opened, and the pressurized gas in the head space of the container is gradually released into the snift chamber 8 and reduced to atmospheric pressure.

Thereafter, the container is lowered and the filling operation is completed.

Although carbonated beverages are filled in the above manner, the above-mentioned filling device is not suitable for dual use in filling beverages that do not contain carbonated gas.

This is because the configuration of the filling device described above is such that when the pressure inside the container and the pressure inside the filler bowl 1 are balanced by counter pressure, the spring 17
This is because the vent tube 15 is pushed up to open the liquid valve, so even when filling wine, alcoholic beverages, etc. that do not require counter pressure in the past, the minimum counter pressure is applied to operate the liquid valve. However, this not only increases operating costs but also makes it impossible to use containers with weak pressure resistance.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned points, and its purpose is to provide a liquid filling device that enables filling of gas-free beverages by replacing some of the structural members.

The present invention includes a valve body mounted on a filler bowl, supported by the valve body so as to be movable up and down,
a stem that forms a liquid valve with the valve body and has a gas passage inside and extends above the liquid level in the filler bowl; a vent tube attached to the gas passage of the stem; In a counterpressure type liquid filling device comprising a spring that urges upward and a gas valve provided at the upper part of the stem to be opened and closed by a valve opening/closing device, the vent tube is formed to be removable, and A valve holding member for gas-free beverage filling is removably formed on the lower surface of the valve body, and the valve holding member is connected to the gas passage of the stem and holds the liquid valve in an open state, A sliding valve that surrounds a gas pipe and is held to move up and down as the container moves up and down and opens and closes an on-off valve provided at the bottom of the gas pipe, and a spring that constantly biases the sliding valve downward. The gist is a liquid filling device characterized by the following: removing the vent tube of the counterpressure type filling device, and assembling the valve holding member, gas conduit, sliding valve, and spring; By attaching it to the valve body, it can be used as a filling device for gas-free beverages. In this case, the gas valve is held open and the liquid valve is also held open, so that the container is raised and touches the sliding valve, which also resists the spring biasing the sliding valve downward. When the valve is lifted to a predetermined position, the on-off valve opens and filling of the liquid begins. The air in the container returns to the filler bowl via the gas conduit and the gas passage in the stem, and the liquid flows through the gas conduit. When the bottom end is reached, filling is stopped.

Next, when the container is lowered, the sliding valve is lowered by the action of the spring, the opening/closing valve is closed, and the filling operation is completed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by simply replacing some of the components, it can be used for both gas-filled and gas-free beverage filling.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In Figures 2 to 4, 1 is the filler bowl, 2 is above the valve body, 3 is below the valve body, and 4 is the filler bowl.
is a prieba chamber, 7 is a liquid flow lower passage, 8 is a snift chamber, 10 is a valve operating lever, 11 is a spring case, 12 is a stem, 13 is a valve part,
14 is a gas passage, which is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 except for the parts described below.

30 is a valve holding member detachably attached to the lower surface of the lower valve body 3, as shown in FIG.
It has a notch 32 that is rotatably fitted into a bolt 31 provided on the lower part of the valve body 3, and is tightened and fixed by the bolt 31. A gas conduit 33 is integrally incorporated into the valve holding member 30 by a retaining ring 34, and is attached to the lower part of the stem 12 from which the vent tube has been removed so as to communicate with the gas passage 14, and also holds the stem 12 in the raised position. The liquid valve constituted by the valve portion 13 is held open. Note that when filling gas-free beverages, the gas valve 18 is operated by the valve operating lever 2.
2, it is held in the open position in advance.

A sliding valve 35 is slidably held by the valve holding member 30 so as to move up and down as the container goes up and down, and is always urged downward by a spring 36.

Reference numeral 37 denotes an opening/closing valve comprised of the sliding valve 35 and the lower part of the gas conduit 33, which is opened and closed by raising and lowering the sliding valve 35.

38 is a centering guide for guiding the container up and down, and 39, 40, and 41 are O-rings.

In the above configuration, when filling a gas-containing beverage, as shown in FIG.
5 and perform the filling operation as described above.

On the other hand, in the case of gas-free beverages, there is no need to apply a counterpressure to fill the container, and the vent tube 15 is removed and the valve holding member 30 and other parts are assembled into a unit under the valve body as shown in FIG. Incorporate it into the bottom surface of. In this case, the gas valve is held open, and there is no need to operate the pre-evaporation valve or the snift valve.

When the container is lifted up from the lifter, it comes into contact with the centering guide 38 and is guided up by the centering guide 38. Next, the sliding valve 35 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the sliding valve 35 and is further moved against the spring 36.
is raised until it touches the valve holding member 30.
As the sliding valve 35 rises, an on-off valve 37 configured between the lower part of the gas conduit 33 is opened.
Liquid filling begins.

As filling progresses and the liquid level in the container closes the bottom opening of the gas pipe, filling is stopped with the liquid rising into the gas pipe, and then when the container is lowered, the liquid rises inside the gas pipe. The liquid also falls into the container, and the on-off valve 37 is also closed, completing the filling operation.

As described above, by attaching and detaching some parts, it can be easily used for both gas-filled and gas-free beverage filling.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional filling valve for gas-filled beverages, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG.
The figure is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1: Filler bowl, 2: On the valve body, 3:
Lower valve body, 11: Spring case, 12:
stem, 13: valve part, 17: spring, 18: gas valve, 30: valve holding member, 33: gas conduit,
35: Sliding valve, 36: Spring, 37: Opening/closing valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The valve body attached to the filler bowl,
A stem supported by the valve body so as to be movable up and down, forming a liquid valve with the valve body and having a gas passage therein, extending above the liquid level in the filler bowl, and a gas passage of the stem. A counterpressure type liquid filling device comprising a vent tube attached to the stem, a spring urging the stem upward, and a gas valve provided above the stem to be opened and closed by a valve opening/closing device, The vent tube is formed to be removable, and a valve holding member for gas-free beverage filling is formed to be attachable to the lower surface of the valve body, and the valve holding member is connected to the gas passage of the stem and is connected to the liquid valve. A gas conduit that is held in an open state, a sliding valve that surrounds the gas conduit, is held to move up and down as the container moves up and down, and that opens and closes an on-off valve provided at the bottom of the gas conduit, and the sliding valve. A liquid filling device comprising: a spring that constantly biases the liquid downward.