Method, as well as treatment station and treatment head for treating the interior of kegs, and seal for use in a treatment station of this type

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11053108-B2
Application number	US-201615764519-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2016
Priority date	Sep 30, 2015
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

A treatment head for treating a keg's interior includes a treatment-head housing against which the keg is sealed by having the keg fitting pressed thereon and a lifter that is immovable relative to the treatment-head housing. In response to axial relative movement with the keg fitting, the lifter opens the keg fitting when the keg is sealed against the pressure element, thereby establishing a return gas-path through the treatment head, through a deformable seal and into the keg's interior. This relative movement is carried out against a resetting force. The deformable sleeve is a sleeve-shaped seal that surrounds a space that surrounds at least a portion of an axial extent of the treatment-head housing. A top end of the sleeve connects to the treatment-head housing and a bottom end of the sleeve connects to the pressure element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising a seal, said seal being a deformable seal that comprises a first annular support, a second annular support, and a cylindrical wall extending between said first annular support and said second annular support, said cylindrical wall being a deformable wall, wherein a distance between said first and second annular supports depends on an extent to which said cylindrical wall has deformed, a treatment head for treatment of an interior of a keg that has been equipped with a keg fitting, wherein said treatment head comprises a housing, wherein said seal surrounds a space that surrounds at least a portion of an axial extent of said housing, wherein said treatment head defines a return-gas path through said seal, wherein said treatment head further comprises a pressure element against which said keg is sealed at said housing by having said keg fitting pressed thereon, and a lifter that is immovable relative to said housing, wherein, in response to relative movement between said keg fitting and said lifter along an axial direction of said housing, said lifter opens said keg fitting when said keg is sealed against said pressure element, thereby establishing said return gas-path through said treatment head, through said seal, and into said keg's interior, wherein said relative movement is carried out against a resetting force, and wherein a top end of said seal connects to said housing and a bottom end of said seal connects to said pressure element.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an inner surface of said first annular support comprises elevated regions separated by recesses.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said seal is a bellows seal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the seal is a roll membrane seal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said seal is made from a single plastic piece.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said seal is configured to fail at a pressure that exceeds six atmospheres.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a sliding surface along which pressure element is guided axially along a surface of said housing, wherein a bottom portion of said seal forms said sliding surface.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said first annular support comprises a first reinforced ring, wherein said second annular support comprises a second reinforced ring, and wherein said cylindrical wall section extends between said first and second reinforced rings.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of elevated regions, said elevated regions being disposed at a bottom portion of said seal, wherein said elevated regions are spaced apart from each other around a reinforced support ring at said bottom portion.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a spring that resists movement of said pressure element relative to said housing, wherein said pressure element is movable against said spring.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a flow channel, wherein said keg fitting transitions between an open state, in which a connection is established through said flow channel and extends through a riser tube of said keg fitting, and a closed state, in which said connection is interrupted.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising first media valves in said return-gas path and second media valves in a flow channel that extends into said keg when said keg fitting is opened, wherein said first and second media valves are configured to cause controlled delivery of fluid into said keg and controlled removal of fluid from said keg.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a lifting device for executing a continuous feed-and-mating stroke in which a first portion of said stroke forms a seal between said keg fitting and said pressure element and a second portion of said stroke opens said keg fitting.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a lifting device for executing separate and distinct first and second strokes, wherein said first stroke forms a seal between said keg fitting and said pressure element and a second stroke opens said keg fitting.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a keg holder and a lifting device configured to move said pressure element toward said keg holder.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a first set of media valves and a second set of media valves, wherein said first set of media valves is configured to control flow of fluid through a flow channel formed in said treatment head, wherein said second set of media valves is allocated to control flow of fluid through said return-gas path, wherein said media valves of said first set are arranged in said housing with valve seats thereof in said flow channel, and wherein said media valves of said second set are arranged in said housing with valve seats thereof in said return-gas path.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said first set of media valves is arranged with valve seats thereof in immediate proximity to said flow channel, wherein, when said keg fitting is open, said flow channel connects to said keg's interior.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising sensors provided at said head, said sensors being configured to monitor pressure in a flow path through said head and to monitor media flowing through said flow path.

19. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said seal is made from a single plastic piece of polytetrafluorethylene.

20. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a cross section of the material from which said first annular support is made is thicker than a cross section of the material from which the cylindrical wall is made and wherein a cross section of the material from which said second annular support is made is thicker than the cross section of the material from which the cylindrical wall is made.

Assignees

• Khs Gmbh

Inventors

• Krulitsch Dieter-Rudolf
• Eckes Sebastian

Classifications

• B67C3/34 Primary

  Devices for engaging filling-heads with filling-apertures · CPC title

• B08B9/0813

  by the force of jets or sprays · CPC title