JPH04242590A - Rotary beverage filling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a rotary beverage filling machine which can give alarm when an in-bottle condition exceeds a permissible range by estimating (operating) an in-bottle condition such as degree of vacuum in a bottle or oxygen concentration, etc., by the operation condition of the rotary beverage filling machine and measured data for each unit. CONSTITUTION:The title beverage filling machine is equipped with a gas flow meter 64 which is provided on a line to feed carbon dioxide gas to a filler tank 1, a pressure sensor 65 which is provided on a line to vacuumize a bottle, a carbon dioxide gas concentration sensor 66 which is provided on a line to discharge the gas so that the pressure in the filler tank 1 is kept uniform, and an operation process unit 61 which compares the information from those sensors and information regarding the operation condition of the filling machine, which is previously input, and alarm is given when there is difference between the previously input information and the information from the sensors.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary beverage filling machine equipped with means for ensuring the quality of filling liquid and for early detection of deviations from a predetermined quality.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example of a conventional rotary beverage filling machine. In the filling machine 104, an empty bottle (or container) 1
0 enters from arrow a, liquid is filled, plugged, and discharged from arrow b. 102 is a bottle feeding screw for timing the feeding bottle 10, 103 is an inlet starwheel, 105 is a transfer starwheel, 106 is a capping machine, and 107 is an outlet starwheel.

[0003] Reference numerals 129 and 130 are cams for vacuuming the inside of the bottle and releasing it to the atmosphere, respectively, by pressing buttons 21 and 24. The liquid valve 8 is opened and closed by moving the charging valve 12 up and down via an operating lever (outer) 14 and an operating lever (inner) 13.
is opened and closed via a spring 9 and a stem 6 to control outflow and stop of the liquid 2. Gas phase part 3 of filler tank 1
The bottle 10 is connected to the vent tube 30, the vent line 7, and the hole 33 of the charging valve 12.

[0004] The vacuum chamber 22 and bottle 10 have holes, buttons 21,
It is connected through holes 30 and 20, and connected to the atmosphere through a button 24 and hole 23. Bottle 1
0 and the valve 4 are sealed by a centering cup 27 and a sealing member 26. The liquid 2 flowing into the bottle 10 is spread by a spreader 11 so as to extend along the inner wall of the bottle 10.

Next, the filling process will be described. empty bottle 1
0 is transferred from arrow a via bottle feeding screw 102 and inlet star wheel 103 to filling machine 104 at position a. The bottle 10 that has entered the filling machine 104 is placed in a lifter (not shown).
is pressed against the valve 4 and sealed with the sealing member 26. This is position ro. Next, use cam 129 to press button 2.
1 is pressed, the vacuum chamber 22 and the inside of the bottle 10 are connected, and the bottle 10
The air inside is exhausted. The purpose of discharging the air in the bottle 10 is to prevent oxygen in the air from being absorbed into the liquid 2 when filling the bottle 10 with the liquid 2. If too much oxygen is absorbed into the liquid 2 in the bottle 10, the flavor will deteriorate during storage. Vacuum suction ends at position C, where the cam 129 disappears, and at position D, the operating lever (outer) 14 is actuated, and the charging valve 12 is opened via the operating lever (inner) 13. Since the gas phase portion 3 of the filler tank 1 is pressurized to about 3 atmospheres, the liquid valve 8 has not yet opened. When the charging valve 12 is opened, the gas in the gas phase section 3 flows into the bottle 10 through the hole 33 and the vent line 7, and the pressure inside the bottle 10 increases. When the pressure inside the bottle 10 increases and approaches the gas phase section 3, the spring 9 opens the liquid valve 8, allowing the liquid 2 to flow into the bottle 10 and start filling. During filling, liquid 2 is transferred from filler tank 1 to bottle 10.
Then, the gas in the bottle 10 flows to the gas phase section 3 via the vent line 7 and the hole 33, respectively. When the liquid 2 that has flowed into the bottle 10 reaches the lower end of the vent tube 30, the flow of the liquid 2 is stopped.

At position E, the operating lever (outer) 14 is operated to close the charging valve 12 and the liquid valve 8 via the operating lever (inner) 13. Next, the button 24 is pressed by the cam 130 to release the gas in the bottle 10 to the atmosphere from the hole 23, and the bottle 10 begins to move away from the valve 4 at the position T, and is delivered to the transfer star wheel 105 at the position T. The bottle 10 is capped by a capper 106 and discharged from an outlet starwheel 107.

[0007] This completes the filling process.

[0008]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Liquid 2 to be filled in bottle 10
Some substances dislike oxygen, so the atmosphere inside the bottle 10 during filling is filled with as little oxygen as possible. As a method for this purpose, vacuum suction is performed to replace the air in the bottle 10 with gas in the gas phase 3 rich in carbon dioxide gas before filling.

However, if the holes 30 and 31, which are the passages between the vacuum chamber 22 and the bottle 10, are blocked for some reason, a bottle 10 containing the liquid 2 that has absorbed a lot of oxygen is produced, and the problem is discovered only at regular intervals. This is after the sampling inspection of the bottle 10, which is carried out in 2015, and is accompanied by a time delay. In this way, until a problem is discovered, many bottles 10 that have absorbed a large amount of oxygen will be produced.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention estimates (calculates) the vacuum degree, oxygen concentration, etc. inside the bottle 10 from the operating conditions of the rotary filling machine and the measurement data of each part, and then fills the bottle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary filling machine that can issue an alarm or change operating conditions when the closed state is out of an allowable range.

[0011]

[Means for solving the problem] Filler tank 1 of filling machine
Information on the internal pressure, rotation speed or number of bottles produced per unit time, information on the volume of the currently produced bottle 10 that has been input in advance, the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas being supplied to the gas phase section 3 of the filler tank 1, and the amount of vacuum suction. A mechanism is provided that issues an alarm when the carbon dioxide concentration in the exhaust gas calculated based on the vacuum pressure and the detected value of the carbon dioxide concentration in the exhaust gas from the gas phase section 3 deviate from a certain range. Additionally, a mechanism is provided to issue an alarm when the suction vacuum pressure is out of a certain range. Further, a mechanism is provided to issue an alarm and control the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas supplied to the gas phase section 3 of the filler tank 1.

0012

[Operation] The carbon dioxide concentration in the gas phase part 3 of the filler tank 1 of the filling machine 104 is determined by the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas being supplied, the flow rate of gas returned from the bottle 10 to the gas phase part 3 of the filler tank 1 during filling, and the carbon dioxide gas concentration. This can be determined by matching the flow balance from the concentration. That is, the carbon dioxide concentration ρfc in the gas phase portion 3 of the filler tank 1 is expressed by the following equation.

[0013]

[Math 1]

Qi is the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas being supplied to the gas phase part 3 of the filler tank 1, and Qr is the flow rate of gas returning from the bottle 10, which is calculated by multiplying the volume Vb of the bottle 10 by the number of production per unit time Bpm. Furthermore, in order to express it in a standard gas state, the pressure Pc of the gas phase part 3 and the gas temperature Tf
is being considered. The carbon dioxide concentration ρbc of the return gas from the bottle 10 can be determined from the vacuum pressure Pp, the length of the cam 129, the suction time tp determined from the number of products produced per unit time Bpm, etc. using the following equation.

[0015]

[Math 2]

[0016] K2 is button 21, holes 20, 30, 31
is a characteristic value representing the resistance when suction gas flows, and is a value unique to the valve 4. If the above calculation formula is used, information on the pressure inside the filler tank 1 of the filling machine, the number of revolutions or the number of products produced per unit time, and the gas phase part 3 of the filler tank 1 can be obtained.
By inputting data such as the flow rate of carbon dioxide supplied to the tank, the detection of the suction vacuum pressure, and the volume of the bottle 10 being produced, etc., the carbon dioxide concentration Sfc in the gas phase section 3 of the filler tank 1 can be calculated. By comparing the carbon dioxide concentration ρfc in the detected exhaust gas, an alarm can be issued as necessary, and the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas supplied to the gas phase portion 3 of the filler tank 1 can be controlled from the amount of deviation.

Furthermore, if the holes 20, 30, and 31 become clogged and the vacuum suction of the bottle 10 becomes insufficient, the flow rate of the suction gas decreases and the vacuum pressure increases due to the characteristics of the vacuum pump. Furthermore, the problem that the vacuum pressure decreases due to an increase in the amount of suction gas when the seal between the bottle 10 and the valve 4 becomes insufficient can be clarified by calculating the appropriate value according to the operating conditions of the filling machine 104. , can issue an alarm.

[0018]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1
2 is a filler tank, 2 is a liquid to be filled into the bottle 10, 3 is a gas phase section pressurized to about 3 atmospheres, and 22 is a vacuum chamber. The liquid 2 is supplied from a liquid supply line 51 to the filler tank 1 via a rotary joint 52. vacuum chamber 2
2 and a vacuum pump 57 are connected via a vacuum line 54 via a rotary joint 52, and a pressure sensor 65 for detecting vacuum pressure is provided in the circuit. Carbon dioxide gas is supplied to the gas phase portion 3 of the filler tank 1 via a control valve 63 and a carbon dioxide gas supply line 53 via a rotary joint 52, and a gas flow meter 64 is provided in this circuit. In order to keep the pressure in the gas phase section 3 constant, gas is discharged to the outside of the machine from an exhaust line 55 via a rotary joint 52, and a carbon dioxide concentration sensor 66 is provided in this circuit.

Reference numeral 56 denotes a control panel for the filling machine, which inputs information necessary for calculation from among information necessary for controlling the filling machine to an arithmetic processing unit 6.
1 through a signal line 67, and information necessary for alarms and control can be sent conversely from the arithmetic processing unit 61 through a signal line 68. The pressure sensor 65, the gas flow meter 64, the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 66, and the arithmetic processing section 61 are connected to signal lines 72, 7.
1 and 73 are connected respectively. The supply flow rate of carbon dioxide gas is controlled by connecting the control unit 62 and the arithmetic processing unit 61 via a signal line 69, and connecting the control valve 63 beyond that via a signal line 70.
are connected.

The conditions for issuing an alarm are that the detected carbon dioxide concentration in the exhaust gas is different from the value calculated by the above formula, and the vacuum pressure of the vacuum pump 57 is calculated from the operating conditions of the filling machine. Perform this when there is a difference between the values. bottle 10
The control valve 63 is used to control the oxygen concentration within the
This is done by controlling the flow rate of carbon dioxide gas supplied to the gas phase section 3 of the filler tank 1 and the rotation speed of the filling machine.

[0021]

[Effects of the Invention] The rotary beverage filling machine according to the present invention includes a gas flow meter installed in the line that supplies carbon dioxide gas to the filler tank, a pressure sensor installed in the line that vacuums the bottle,
A carbon dioxide concentration sensor installed in the gas discharge line to keep the pressure inside the filler tank constant, and a calculation processing unit that compares information from these sensors with information about the operating conditions of the filling machine input in advance. By having the following,
It has the following effects.

From the information on the operating conditions of the filling machine (pressure inside the filler tank, number of revolutions or number of production per unit time, vacuum pressure, flow rate of carbon dioxide gas supply, volume of bottle 10 during production, etc.), determine the appropriate amount of exhaust gas in the exhaust gas. It is possible to determine the carbon dioxide concentration, compare it with the detected carbon dioxide concentration, and issue an alarm if a difference occurs. Therefore, the production of bottles filled with liquid that has absorbed a large amount of oxygen can be minimized. Furthermore, maintenance can be facilitated by displaying defective parts based on vacuum pressure, etc.

[0023] Furthermore, by controlling the carbon dioxide gas supply flow rate and rotation speed, products of stable quality can be obtained without stopping production.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the rotary beverage filling machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of a conventional rotary beverage filling machine.

FIG. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the filling part in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Filler tank 22 Vacuum chamber 53 Carbon dioxide supply line 54 Exhaust line 56 Control panel 57 Vacuum pump 61 Arithmetic processing unit 63 Control valve 64 Gas flow meter 65 Pressure sensor 66 Carbon dioxide concentration sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A gas flow meter installed in the line that supplies carbon dioxide gas to the filler tank, a pressure sensor installed in the line that evacuates the bottle, and a line that discharges gas to keep the pressure inside the filler tank constant. It is equipped with a carbon dioxide concentration sensor provided and a calculation processing unit that compares the information from these sensors and the information regarding the operating conditions of the filling machine input in advance, and detects the difference between the information input in advance and the information from the sensor. A rotary beverage filling machine characterized in that it is configured to issue an alarm when there is a problem.