JPH06247495A - Filling tube raising type filler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform filling while controlling filling or liquid level so that the liquid level may be always in the fixed range in relation to the tip of a filling tube to be raised. CONSTITUTION:The filler is provided with a filling liquid tank, a filling tube 40 and a filling liquid valve 18. A liquid level detecting sensor 42 is integrally provided slightly above a liquid injecting port of the filling tube 40. The liquid valve 18 is opened and closed by a controller 44 into which a signal from the sensor 42 is input. The filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are integrally and continuously raised. When the raising of liquid level by the filling is detected by the sensor 42, the valve 18 is closed, and the filling is temporarily stopped. After the fixed time passes, the filling is performed again by releasing the liquid valve 18. Thus, the filling is performed by repeating the opening and closing of the liquid valve 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filler (filling machine) for filling a liquid in a container, and more particularly, to a filling tube rising type filler for making the liquid level follow the rising of a filling tube (filling nozzle). It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A filler (filler) is generally provided between a filling liquid tank for storing a liquid to be filled, a filling nozzle inserted into the container to fill the liquid, and a filling liquid tank and the filling nozzle. And a filling liquid valve for opening and closing the passage between them. When filling the inside of the container with this filler, it is necessary to make the liquid level of the filled liquid constant, in other words, to make the empty size (space left above the container after filling) uniform. There is.

Therefore, the filler is provided with means for making the liquid level of the liquid filled in the container constant. For example, in the case of a filler of the type in which the mouth of the container is sealed by a bottle packing, the air inside the container must be discharged as the liquid is filled into the container. An air tube is provided in addition to the filling nozzle that performs the filling, and the air in the container is discharged according to the amount of the filled liquid. In this type of filler, when the filled liquid rises in the container and the liquid level reaches the exhaust port at the lower end of the air tube, this air tube is blocked and exhaust is not performed, so The liquid inflow stops, and the filling ends there. That is, the liquid level height (empty value) at the end of filling is determined by the position of the exhaust port of the air tube.

On the other hand, in the type of filler which does not seal the mouth of the container, a separate sensor for detecting the height of the liquid surface is provided.
When this sensor senses the liquid level that gradually rises as the filling of the liquid into the container progresses, the filling liquid valve is closed to complete the filling.

By the way, in the usual construction of such a filler, the tip of the filling nozzle is inserted into the upper part of the container, the liquid valve is opened to perform the filling, and the liquid level rising as the filling progresses is detected by the sensor. After the detection, it is confirmed that the filling liquid amount has reached a predetermined amount, and the liquid valve is closed to complete the filling. When the liquid filled by this filler is a liquid that easily foams, if the liquid is filled with the liquid injection port at the lower end of the filling nozzle positioned above the container as described above, it will flow into the container. The liquid may foam from falling from a high position, and the sensor may erroneously recognize the foam as the liquid surface and end the filling. In such a case, the liquid level at the time of completion of filling may not be constant and the liquid amount may be insufficient. In order to prevent such foaming at the time of filling and to obtain an accurate liquid level, it is considered that the tip of the filling nozzle should be inserted up to near the bottom of the container for filling.

However, if filling is performed with the tip of the filling nozzle inserted in this way until it reaches near the bottom of the container, when the filling nozzle is withdrawn from the container after completion of filling, the volume of the inserted filling nozzle is increased. There was a problem that the liquid amount was insufficient by the amount and the liquid adhering to the filling nozzle drips to contaminate the surroundings. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, there is already known a liquid level following type filling method in which the filling nozzle is moved up in accordance with the rise of the filled liquid level (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 61-206). 59-13419
2). In the method described in this publication, there is only a functional explanation that the tip of the nozzle is kept slightly submerged in the liquid and the nozzle is caused to follow the rise of the liquid level and then raised. No specific configuration is disclosed for performing such an operation.

[0007]

In the liquid filling type filler, the tip of the filling nozzle is constantly immersed in the liquid during filling, and the filler is not submerged too deep in the filling liquid. Although it is preferable to perform the filling, it is not clear in the above-mentioned conventional method whether the filling can be performed without the filling nozzle protruding above the liquid surface or being inserted too deeply.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the liquid level of the filled liquid is located within a predetermined range with respect to the tip of the ascending filling tube with a simple structure. As described above, the present invention provides a filling tube rising type filler that can be moved up and down as described above.

[0009]

A filling tube lifter according to the present invention is a filling tube which is inserted into a container and filled with a liquid, and a filling tube which is integrally attached to the filling tube and filled in the container. A sensor for detecting the liquid level of the liquid, an elevating means for elevating and lowering the filling tube and the sensor, a liquid valve provided between the filling tube and the filling liquid tank, and a signal from the sensor to input this liquid. It has a control means for controlling the opening and closing of the valve, the filling tube is inserted up to near the bottom of the container, the filling tube is raised while filling, and when the sensor detects the liquid level, it is controlled by the control means. The liquid valve is closed, and the liquid valve is opened when the sensor is separated from the liquid surface.

[0010]

In the filling tube lifting type filler, filling is performed while the filling tube is being raised, and when the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection sensor provided integrally with the filling tube, the filling is temporarily stopped and the sensor Will start filling again after moving above the liquid surface, so that the tip of the filling tube that rises,
The filling can be performed while controlling so that the liquid surface is always located within a predetermined range.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a filling tube lifting type filler according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the filling tube lifting type filler, which is a tubular shape fixed upright on a machine base 2. A rotating body 6 is rotatably supported on the column 4. The rotating body 6 is composed of upper, middle and lower parts 3 which are integrally connected.
A shaft portion 6a rotatably supported by being fitted into the support column 4 and a plurality of horizontal rotary plates 8, 10, 12 and the shaft portion 6a.
And a large-diameter gear 14 fixed to the lower side of the support column 4. The large-diameter gear 14 meshes with the drive gear 16a of the main motor 16 to transmit the driving force, and the rotating body 6 is integrated. To rotate.

The upper, middle and lower three rotating plates 8 and 1 of the rotating body 6
On the outer peripheral side of 0 and 12, a plurality of filling liquid valves 18 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. These three rotating plates 8,
Between 10 and 12, two guide rods 2 each make one set
0 is fixed vertically, and the filling liquid valve 18 is supported by each set of guide rods 20 so as to be vertically movable. Figure 3
As shown in, a screw 22 is arranged between the guide rods 20 of each set, and is rotatably supported by the upper rotary plate 8. The screw 22 is rotated by a servo motor 24 fixed on the surface of the upper rotary plate 8.
A nut 26, which is supported by the guide rods 20 on both sides of the screw 22 so as to be able to move up and down and is supported so as not to rotate, is screwed into the screw 22, and the nut 26 moves up and down as the screw 22 rotates. The slide block 2 is provided below the intermediate rotating plate 10 of both guide rods 20.
8 is supported so as to be able to move up and down, and is connected to the nut 26 via a connecting cylinder 30 so as to move up and down integrally.

The filling liquid valve 18 is mounted on the slide block 28. This filling liquid valve 18
Is a filling liquid tank (not shown) via a flexible hose 32, a distribution pipe 34, a rotary joint 36, and a supply pipe 38 that extends through the axis of the support column 4 and the rotating body 6 to the outside of the rotating body 6. No. 1), while it is also connected to a filling tube (filling nozzle) 40 vertically attached to the slide block 28 so as to cut off the communication between the filling liquid tank and the filling tube 40. Also, this slide block 28 has
A sensor 42 for detecting the liquid level of the liquid filled in the container 50 is provided adjacent to the filling tube 40. The sensor 42 for detecting the liquid level is arranged such that its detecting portion is located slightly above the liquid injection port (opening at the lower end) of the filling tube 40, and the lower end of the filling tube 40 is slightly filled. The liquid level is detected while it is submerged in the liquid. The signal from the sensor 42 is input to the control device 44.
The control device 44 controls the opening and closing of the filling liquid valve 18 by an input signal from 2. That is, when the sensor 42 detects the liquid level of the filling liquid, the signal is input to the control device 44, the filling liquid valve 18 is closed, and the filling is stopped. In addition, when the timer measures that a predetermined time has elapsed after the filling liquid valve 18 is closed, the filling liquid valve 18 is opened again to start filling. The liquid level detecting sensor 42 is preferably an electrode rod when the liquid filled in the container 50 is a conductive liquid. When the filling liquid is a non-conductive liquid, an air sensor may be used instead of the electrode rod.

Below each of the filling tubes 40, a container base 46 is provided so as to correspond to the upper and lower positions of the filling tubes 40. These container bases 46 are attached to the outer surface of the cylindrical body 12 a extending below the rotary plate 12 below the rotary body 6, and along with the rotation of the rotary body 6, the filling tube 40, the filling liquid valve 18, and the vertical direction. Align the positions of and rotate integrally. The containers 50, which are continuously conveyed by the conveyor 48, are supplied onto the respective container stands 46 via the supply star wheels 52 (see FIG. 1). Rotating body 6
During each rotation, the filling liquid valve 18 and the filling tube 40 descend, the tip of the filling tube 40 is inserted into the container 50 to perform the filling, and after the filling is completed, the container 50 on the container table 46 is completed. Is the exhaust star wheel 5
It is discharged onto the conveyor 48 via the No. 4 connector. In addition, the supply star wheel 52 and the discharge star wheel 54
The gears 56 (see FIG. 2) attached below each of the gears mesh with the large-diameter gear 14 of the rotating body 6 to transmit the rotational force from the main motor 16, and rotate in synchronization with the rotating body 6. It is like this.

The operation of the filling tube lifting type filler having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. First, it is confirmed by a container detection means (not shown) that the container 50 is supplied onto each container table 46. Container 5
When it is confirmed that 0 is supplied, the following filling operation is performed. At the position A (see FIG. 1) where the container 50 is delivered to the container base 46 via the supply star wheel 52, the servo motor 2 is instructed by the controller 44.
4 is actuated and the filling tube 40 starts to descend (a in FIG. 4). The filling tube 40 descends and is gradually inserted into the container 50 (b to d in FIG. 4). At the position B in FIG. 1, the filling tube 40 is completely lowered and is stopped (e in FIG. 4). At this time, the tip of the filling tube 40 descends to near the bottom of the container 50. At the same time that the filling tube 40 reaches the stop position (B in FIG. 1, e in FIG. 4), the filling liquid valve 18 is opened by the control device 44 to start filling. The liquid level detection sensor 42 is the filling tube 40.
Since it is attached above the lower end opening, the filling tube 40 does not come into contact with the liquid surface at the start of filling, so that the filling tube 40 is filled at the lowest position.

The container 50 is filled with liquid, the liquid level rises, the injection port at the lower end of the filling tube 40 is submerged in the filling liquid, and further rises to reach the liquid level detection sensor 42 (Fig. 4f). When this sensor 42 detects the liquid level,
By the control device 44 to which the signal from the sensor 42 is input, the filling liquid valve 18 is closed to temporarily stop the filling, and the servo motor 24 is operated to start the filling tube 40 rising. The raising of the filling tube 40 is performed as follows. That is, when the screw 22 is rotated by the operation of the servo motor 24, the nut 26 screwed into the screw 22 is guided by the two guide rods 20 and ascended. A slide block 28 is attached to the nut 26 via a connecting cylinder 30.
Are joined together and rise together with the nut 26, and the filling tube 40 and the liquid level detecting sensor 42 also rise together with the nut 26. The rising speed of the filling tube 40 is set to be a speed slightly slower than the speed at which the liquid level of the liquid filled in the container 50 rises, and the filling tube 40 continuously increases at that speed.

As described above, the filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are integrally lifted while the filling liquid valve 18 is closed and the filling is stopped, so that the sensor 42 is separated from the liquid surface. The filling liquid valve 18 is switched and opened by a timer of the control unit 44 after a predetermined time has elapsed, and the filling liquid valve 18 is filled again after the opening (g, h, i in FIG. 4). ). The time set by the timer is the filling tube 40 which keeps rising.
However, since the filling is stopped, the liquid level does not change at a certain position, so that the filling is restarted while the liquid does not come out upward, that is, while the filling port at the lower end of the filling tube 40 is in the filling liquid. Is set to that time.

When the filling is performed again, the speed of the liquid level rising due to the filling is a little faster than the speed of the filling tube 40 and the liquid level detecting sensor 42, so that the rising liquid level catches up with the sensor 42. This is detected by the sensor 42, and the filling liquid valve 18 is closed again to stop the filling (j in FIG. 4). In this way, the filling liquid valve 18 is repeatedly opened and closed while the filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 continue to rise at a constant speed, and the injection port at the lower end of the filling tube 40 is slightly inserted into the filling liquid. In this state, the filling proceeds while injecting and stopping the filling liquid (ks in FIG. 4).

The ascent of the filling tube 40 and the liquid level detecting sensor 42 is stopped when the sensor 42 reaches a preset liquid level height (set empty position) (FIG. 1). C, t in FIG. 4). The filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are placed at a height that determines the final liquid level.
While the charging is stopped, the filling proceeds and the liquid level rises. When the liquid reaches the sensor 42 and the liquid level is sensed, the controller 44 closes the filling liquid valve 18 to complete the filling (FIG. 1).
D, FIG. 4 u). The filling valve 18 which is closed at the empty dimension determining position is kept as it is until the next filling.
Further, the filling tube 40 and the liquid level detection sensor 42 are finally lifted to discharge the container 50 from the above-mentioned point where the filling is completed (position D in FIG. 1), and are withdrawn from the container 50. (V, w in FIG. 4). While the filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are rising and being withdrawn, the container 50 is discharged onto the conveyor 48 by the discharging star wheel 54, and at the point E in FIG. 1, the filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are completely lifted. .
The filling tube 40 and the sensor 42 are rotated as they are to the point A in FIG. 1 while maintaining the elevated position, and then descended again from the point A toward the next container 50 to repeat the above operation.

In this way, the tip of the filling tube 40 is inserted into the filling liquid in the container 50 for filling, and the filling tube 40 is continuously raised, and the liquid level raised by the filling is used for liquid level detection. Sensor 42
The liquid level is controlled within a predetermined range at the tip of the filling tube 40 by opening and closing the filling liquid valve 18 by performing the filling operation without bubbling to a specified empty position in the container. it can. Although the filling tube 40 and the liquid level detection sensor 42 are continuously raised in the above embodiment, they are intermittently raised within the range in which the tip of the filling tube 40 is not exposed above the liquid level. You may do it.

A delivery point (A in FIG. 1) where the container 50 is supplied from the supply star wheel 52 onto the container base 46.
When the container detecting means provided in the vicinity does not detect the container 50, the filling tube 40 corresponding to the container table 46 is not lowered and is rotated while being held at the rising end position, while filling The liquid valve 18 also has a so-called no-bottle / no-fill mechanism in which the closed state is maintained. Needless to say, when the machine stops, the filling tube 40 is stopped immediately and the filling liquid valve 18 is closed.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the filling-in-filler, which fills the filling tube with the tip of the filling tube always inserted, is explained. However, for example, when the filling liquid is not foamable, the filling is performed. It is not always necessary to insert the tube into the liquid, and filling may be performed while controlling the rise of the liquid level such that the tube is positioned slightly below the tip of the ascending filling tube.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the filling tube is inserted up to near the bottom of the container, the filling tube is raised while filling, and when the sensor detects the liquid level, the liquid is controlled by the control means. By closing the valve and opening the liquid valve after the sensor separates from the liquid surface, it is possible to fill the tip of the filling tube within a prescribed range while controlling the rise of the liquid surface. It is possible to prevent foaming and prevent the liquid level from dropping and the liquid from dripping when the filling tube is taken out of the liquid after filling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a filling tube lift type filler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the filling tube lift type filler.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view sequentially showing a filling process by the filler.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for sequentially explaining a filling process using the filler.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18 Liquid Valve (Filling Liquid Valve) 24 Lifting Means (Servo Motor) 40 Filling Tube 42 Sensor (Sensor for Liquid Level Detection) 44 Control Means (Control Device) 50 Container

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A filling tube which is inserted into a container and filled with a liquid, a sensor which is integrally attached to the filling tube and which detects a liquid level of the liquid filled in the container, the filling tube and the sensor. And a liquid valve provided between the filling tube and the filling liquid tank, and a control unit that receives a signal from the sensor and controls opening and closing of the liquid valve. To near the bottom of the container, raise the filling tube while filling, close the liquid valve by the above control means when the sensor detects the liquid surface, and open the liquid valve when the sensor separates from the liquid surface. Filling tube lift type filler that is open.