Filling element and filling machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10968091-B2
Application number	US-201314418597-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2013
Priority date	Jul 30, 2012
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

In a container-filling machine, a filling element includes a housing, a sealing tulip, and a bellows. The housing has a housing section and an orifice. The sealing tulip moves relative to the housing section along an axis between a raised and a lowered position. The bellows surrounds the axis. The bellows' two ends connect tightly to the housing and the tulip respectively. As a result, the bellows seals a transition between the tulip and the housing.

First claim

Having described the invention, and a preferred embodiment thereof, what is claimed as new, and secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus comprising a can-filling machine for filling cans with liquid filling-material, said can-filling machine comprising
a rotor that rotates about a vertical machine-axis and that defines filling positions for filling cans,
a filling element disposed in one of said filling positions, said filling element comprising a filling-element housing comprising a first housing-section that defines a liquid channel that extends along a filling-element axis and through said first housing-section to a delivery orifice through which a controlled flow of liquid filling-material enters a can,
a sealing tulip that is movable along said filling-element axis between a raised position, at which said sealing tulip releases said can, and a lowered position, at which said sealing tulip seals against an orifice edge of said can,
a bellows that surrounds said filling-element axis and at least a portion of said filling-element housing and that forms seals with said filling-element housing and said sealing tulip at first and second ends thereof, wherein said bellows seals a transition between said sealing tulip and said filling-element housing, whereby there is no sliding seal to seal said transition between said tulip and said filling-element housing, and
a valve disposed in said liquid channel and configured to control flow of said liquid filling-material through said delivery orifice,
wherein, during operation of said filling element, either a filling pressure or a pre-tensioning pressure acts on inner surfaces of both said sealing tulip and said bellows and also presses said sealing tulip against said orifice edge,
wherein said first housing-section, said tulip, and said bellows cooperate to define an annular gap that extends from a proximal end of said first housing-section to a distal end of said first housing-section, said annular gap having an inner wall formed by an outer surface of said first housing-section and an outer wall having a proximal section formed by an inner face of said bellows and a distal section formed by an inner surface of said sealing tulip,
wherein said can-filling machine further comprises a channel, wherein said channel opens out into said annular gap at a location selected such that liquid cleaning medium that enters through said channel cleans an inner face of said bellows,
wherein said channel comprises an opening that leads into said upper annular gap,
wherein said channel defines a channel axis,
wherein said channel axis forms an angle relative to a plane that is perpendicular to said filling element axis, and
wherein said angle is less than ninety degrees.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said channel is configured so as to open out into said annular gap at an angle relative to a plane that is perpendicular to said filling element axis such that, during CIP cleaning and/or disinfection, said angle imparts, to a medium that flows out of said channel, a velocity vector having a component in a peripheral direction of the outer face of said first housing section, whereby said medium flows through said annular gap from top to bottom in a spiral path for cleaning all interior faces of said annular gap, including said bellows.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said sealing tulip comprises an annular body that surrounds said first housing section, wherein said annular body comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion, said distal portion comprising a lower annular body section having an enlarged outer diameter that is greater than an outer diameter of said proximal portion, and wherein said lower annular body section comprises an inner ring seal and an outer lip seal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said sealing tulip comprises an annular body, wherein said annular body has an inner face and an outer face, wherein said bellows comprises a lower bellows section that extends from said second end of said bellows away from said delivery orifice and an upper bellows section that is disposed between said lower bellows section and said first end of said bellows, wherein said lower bellows section is a cylinder that surrounds said filling element axis and extends distally from said upper bellows section into said sealing tulip's annular body, and wherein said lower bellows section connects to said inner face of said annular body.

5. An apparatus comprising a can-filling machine for filling cans with liquid filling-material, said can-filling machine comprising
a rotor that rotates about a vertical machine-axis and that defines filling positions for filling cans,
a filling element disposed in one of said filling positions, said filling element comprising a filling-element housing comprising a first housing-section that defines a liquid channel that extends along a filling-element axis and through said first housing-section to a delivery orifice through which a controlled flow of liquid filling-material enters a can,
a sealing tulip that is movable along said filling-element axis between a raised position, at which said sealing tulip releases said can, and a lowered position, at which said sealing tulip seals against an orifice edge of said can,
a bellows that surrounds said filling-element axis and at least a portion of said filling-element housing and that forms seals with said filling-element housing and said sealing tulip at first and second ends thereof, wherein said bellows seals a transition between said sealing tulip and said filling-element housing, whereby there is no sliding seal to seal said transition between said tulip and said filling-element housing, and
a valve disposed in said liquid channel and configured to control flow of said liquid filling-material through said delivery orifice,
wherein, during operation of said filling element, either a filling pressure or a pre-tensioning pressure acts on inner surfaces of both said sealing tulip and said bellows and also presses said sealing tulip against said orifice edge,
wherein said first housing-section, said tulip, and said bellows cooperate to define an annular gap that extends from a proximal end of said first housing-section to a distal end of said first housing-section, said annular gap having an inner wall formed by an outer surface of said first housing-section and an outer wall having a proximal section formed by an inner face of said bellows and a distal section formed by an inner surface of said sealing tulip,
wherein said can-filling machine further comprises a channel that opens out into said annular gap at said proximal end of said first housing-section.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said channel opens out into said annular gap at a location selected such that liquid cleaning medium that enters through said channel cleans an inner face of said bellows.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said sealing tulip comprises
an annular body that surrounds said first housing section,
wherein said annular body comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion, said distal portion comprising a lower annular body section having an enlarged outer diameter that is greater than an outer diameter of said proximal portion,
wherein said lower annular body section comprises an inner ring seal and an outer lip seal.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein said channel opens out into said annular gap, wherein said annular gap is formed between said first housing section and said bellows and sealing tulip, and wherein said channel opens at an end of said annular gap that lies away from said sealing tulip.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a clamping ring, wherein said filling-element housing compris

Assignees

• Khs Gmbh

Inventors

• Krulitsch Dieter-Rudolf

Classifications

• B65B39/001 Primary

  with flow cut-off means, e.g. valves · CPC title

• B67C3/2614

  specially adapted for counter-pressure filling · CPC title

• B67C3/06

  using counterpressure, i.e. filling while the container is under pressure · CPC title

• B65B39/04

  having air-escape, or air-withdrawal, passages · CPC title

• B67C2003/2657

  specially adapted for filling cans · CPC title