JPH0520643Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a filling nozzle suitable for aseptically filling liquids such as milk, fruit juice, alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the filling nozzle used for aseptic filling is
As shown in the figure, a valve housing 1 includes a filling inlet 1A on the side and a filling outlet 1B at one end, a valve body 2 for opening and closing the filling outlet, and a driving means for reciprocating the valve body 2. (not shown) and a bearing 4 that slidably guides the valve shaft 3.
It has a bellows 5 or the like whose one end is fixed to the valve shaft 3 by welding or the like and the other end is attached to the end of the valve housing 1, and the filling is supplied from the filling tank to the filling inlet 1A. By opening and closing the filling outlet with the valve body 2, the filling container (not shown) is filled from the filling outlet 1B. Here, bellows 5
expands and contracts in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the valve shaft 3, and constantly isolates the inside of the valve housing 1 from the outside world, thereby preventing sterilization from entering into the valve housing 1 from the outside.

[The problem that the idea aims to solve]

However, it has been found that such conventional filling nozzles have the following problems. That is,
After the filling operation is completed, the filling passage is cleaned in place (CIP) by flowing a cleaning liquid at high pressure, but since the bellows 5 has a structure with many unevenness, cleaning performance is poor. In particular, if the filler contains solid content, such as fruit juice, this solid content will clog the recesses of the bellows, making cleaning extremely difficult. Considering cleanability, it is necessary to use molded bellows with relatively smooth irregularities, but in that case, the elasticity of the bellows is poorer than that of welded bellows with large irregularities, so a large force is required for the reciprocating movement of the valve body. and has a short lifespan. Furthermore, since the bellows is exposed to high-pressure cleaning fluid during cleaning, the service life of the bellows is also shortened.

The present invention was devised in view of these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a filling nozzle that is easy to clean and can extend the life of parts used.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention consists of a valve housing that has a filling inlet on the side, a filling outlet on one side of the inlet, and a cylindrical sealing surface on the other side, and is movable in the axial direction within the valve housing. a valve body provided with a valve part for opening and closing the filling outlet, a seal part slidable while maintaining a sealing relationship with the seal surface; A valve shaft provided in the valve shaft, a driving means for reciprocating the valve body via the valve shaft, a sealing surface of the valve housing and a sealing portion of the valve body are used to connect the filling material inlet to the filling material outlet. a bellows disposed in a position cut off from a passage leading to the valve body, one end of which is fixed to the valve body or valve shaft, and the other end of which is connected to the valve housing;
a bellows that is fixed outside the sliding range of the seal portion of the valve body and shuts off the inside and outside of the valve housing; The gist of the present invention is a filling nozzle characterized by having a pipe connection port for supplying a liquid.

[Effect]

In the filling nozzle configured as described above, since the bellows blocks the inside and outside of the valve housing, it is possible to prevent external germs from entering the valve housing. Additionally, since the bellows is isolated from the passage of the filling material by the sealing surface of the valve housing and the sealing portion of the valve body, the filling material does not come into contact with the bellows, which eliminates the problem of cleaning the bellows. This not only allows the use of welded bellows, but also increases their lifespan since they are not exposed to high-pressure cleaning fluids to clean the filling passages.

Normally, it is difficult to prevent bacteria from entering the sliding parts, and if there are bacteria in the space between the inner surface of the valve housing and the outer surface of the bellows, the bacteria may be trapped in the sliding part between the valve housing and the valve body. There is a risk that the product may enter the filling passage from the inside. However, since the filling nozzle with the above configuration is provided with a pipe connection port in the valve housing that communicates with the space between the outer surface of the bellows and the inner surface of the valve housing, the sterilizing fluid is By supplying this, the space between the inner surface of the valve housing and the outer surface of the bellows can be sterilized, and the problem of germs entering from the sliding portion between the sealing surface of the valve housing and the sealing portion of the valve body does not occur.

〔Example〕

Examples of the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 1, 11 is a valve housing. This valve housing 11 has a filling inlet 11A on its side,
It has a filling outlet 11B on one side with the filling inlet 11A in between, and a cylindrical sealing surface 11C on the opposite side. Reference numeral 12 denotes a valve body that is provided movably in the axial direction within the valve housing 11, and includes a valve portion 12A that opens and closes the filling outlet 11B, and a sealing surface 11.
A seal portion 12B that can slide while maintaining a sealing relationship with respect to C is provided. 13 is a valve shaft provided in the axial direction on the seal portion 12B side of the valve body 12. This valve shaft 13 is slidably held by a bearing 15 of a support body 14, and a piston 17 that slides within a cylinder chamber 16 is connected to its tip. Supply and exhaust passages 18 and 19 are connected to the cylinder chamber 16, and by supplying compressed air through these supply and exhaust passages 18 and 19, the piston 17
moves up and down, causing the valve body 12 to reciprocate. Therefore, the cylinder chamber 16 and the piston 17 are connected to the valve body 12.
It constitutes a driving means for reciprocating the. In addition, 20
is a spring that urges the piston 17 downward, and functions to push the valve body 12 downward and close the filling outlet 11B when compressed air is not supplied. The means for driving the valve body is not limited to the one using the illustrated piston 17, but any other mechanism may be used.

21 is a bellows, one end of which is connected to the mounting plate 22.
The other end is hermetically fixed to the end of the valve housing 11 via a mounting plate 23. Bellows 21 and mounting plate 2
2 and 23 are airtightly connected by welding or the like, so that the bellows 21 is connected to the valve housing 11.
Airtightly seals the inside and outside of the room to prevent invasion of outside germs. Note that the mounting plate 22 is not limited to being attached to the valve body 12;
3 may be airtightly fixed by welding or the like. Any bellows can be used as the bellows 21, but metal welded bellows are preferred because they have a long life and good expansion and contraction performance. Pipe connection ports 11D and 11E are formed on the wall surface of the valve housing 11 located outside the bellows 21, and a sterile filter 24, a steam supply pipe 25, and an air supply pipe 26 are connected to one pipe connection port 11D. and an exhaust pipe 28 having a throttle valve 27 at the other pipe connection port 11E.
is connected.

Next, a method of using the above-mentioned filling nozzle will be explained.
Prior to use, heated steam is supplied from the filling inlet 11A, and from the filling inlet 11A to the filling outlet 11.
Sterilize the filling passage leading to B, the outer surface of the valve body 12, etc. In parallel with this, heated steam is also supplied from the steam supply pipe 25 to sterilize the space 30 behind the valve body 12 inside the valve housing 11. As a result, the area within the movement range of the valve body 12 within the valve housing 11 is sterilized. After the sterilization is completed, a filling operation is performed while continuing to supply a small amount of sterile air to the space 30 from the air supply pipe 26. That is, the filling is supplied from the filling inlet 11A, the filling outlet 11B is opened and closed by the reciprocating movement of the valve body 12, and the filling is transferred to the filling container (not shown).
Fill it. At this time, the seal portion 12B of the valve body 12
Due to the sealing between the sealing surface 11C of the valve housing 11 and the sealing surface 11C of the valve housing 11, the filling material is kept in the space 30 behind the valve body 12.
Since the filling does not enter the bellows 21, the filling does not come into contact with the bellows 21. Note that the volume of the space 30 behind the valve body changes according to the reciprocating movement of the valve body 12, but since sterile air is always supplied to this space, there is no negative pressure, and no external bacteria are present. In addition, since the sliding parts such as the bearing 15 of the valve stem 13 are isolated from the inside of the valve housing by the bellows 21, the intrusion of bacteria from this part is also prevented, and the filling is kept in a sterile state. filled with. next,
After the filling operation is completed, cleaning liquid is supplied at high pressure to the passage of the filling material to perform cleaning. In this case, the cleaning liquid only needs to clean the passage from the filling inlet 11A to the filling outlet 11B, and there is no need to clean the bellows 21, which has a complicated shape. It will not be damaged.

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above description, the filling nozzle of the present invention has a bellows that isolates the inside and outside of the valve housing and prevents germs from entering from the outside at the part where the valve stem extends outside the valve housing. Since it is configured to be shut off from the filling passage by the face and the seal formed on the valve body, the filling does not come into contact with the outer periphery of the bellows, and therefore,
When performing stationary cleaning of the filling nozzle, it is no longer necessary to clean the bellows with a complicated shape, which not only makes cleaning easier, but also eliminates the reduction in the life of the bellows due to cleaning fluid, and also eliminates the problem of welded bellows with large irregularities as a bellows. This has the advantage that it can be used without any problems. In addition, since sterilizing fluid can be supplied to the space between the outer surface of the bellows and the inner surface of the valve housing behind the valve body, this space can be sterilized and bacteria can enter through the sliding part between the valve housing and the valve body. It also has the effect of preventing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a filling nozzle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a part of a conventional filling nozzle. 11... Valve housing, 11A... Filling inlet, 11B... Filling outlet, 11C... Seal surface, 12... Valve body, 12A... Valve portion, 12B...
Seal part, 13... Valve shaft, 17... Piston, 2
1... Bellows.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A valve housing having a filling inlet on the side, a filling outlet on one side of the inlet, and a cylindrical sealing surface on the other side; a valve body that is movable in a direction and includes a valve part that opens and closes the filling outlet; and a seal part that is slidable while maintaining a sealing relationship with the seal surface; and a seal part of the valve body. The filling inlet is controlled by a valve shaft provided in the axial direction on the side, a driving means for reciprocating the valve body via the valve shaft, and a sealing surface of the valve housing and a sealing portion of the valve body. A bellows is arranged in a position where it is cut off from a passage leading to a filling outlet, one end of which is fixed to the valve body or the valve shaft, the other end of which is fixed to the valve housing, and the other end is fixed to the valve body, and the other end is attached to the sliding portion of the sealing part of the valve body. a bellows that is fixed outside the movement range and blocks the inside and outside of the valve housing; A filling nozzle characterized by having a connection port.