Filling element, filling system, and method for filling containers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11649151-B2
Application number	US-201917285380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2019
Priority date	Nov 6, 2018
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

A filling element has a gas valve that controls flow of gas through a gas channel that extends into or faces the container during filling thereof. The gas valve transitions between discrete states, which includes a fully-open state, a closed state, and one or more partially-open states.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for filling containers with a filling material, said apparatus comprising a filling element, said filling element comprising a fluid channel through which liquid filling-material provided by a filling-material tank flows, a liquid valve in said fluid channel, a discharge opening downstream of said liquid valve for discharging said filling material into a container with said liquid valve opened, a gas channel having a gas opening through which gas flows into said container, and a gas valve that controls flow of gas through said gas channel, wherein said gas opening either extends into or faces said container during filling thereof and wherein said gas valve is configured to transition between a plurality of discrete states, said states comprising a fully-open state, a closed state, and at least one partially-open state, said fully-open state and said partially-open state having different flow resistances,
wherein said gas valve includes a gas-valve tube with a seal seat and a gas-valve needle that moves relative to said gas-valve tube, said gas-valve needle comprising a sealing surface and a choke separated by a shaft, wherein, as said gas-valve needle moves distally towards said container along a closing direction, said seal seat eventually engages said sealing surface and closes said gas valve wherein proximal movement of said valve needle in a direction opposite said closing direction, causes said gas valve to assume a partially-open position in which said choke is within a constriction of said gas-valve tube, thereby causing only a narrow annular gap to remain between said choke and a wall of said gas-valve tube at said constriction, wherein further proximal movement of said choke raises said choke out of said constriction and completely opens said gas valve.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said states comprise first and second partially-open states that have different flow resistances.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve comprises a gas-valve tube and a gas-valve needle that moves relative to said gas-valve tube along a closing direction to transition from said fully-open state to said closed state, wherein said gas-valve tube comprise a seal seat and said gas-valve needle comprises a sealing surface, wherein, in said closed state, said sealing surface lies on said seal seat to close said gas valve, and wherein, in said fully-open state, said sealing surface is at a distance from said seal seat, thereby permitting flow through said gas valve.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve comprises a gas-valve tube comprising a seal seat and a constriction distal to said seal seat, said constriction having a constriction diameter and a gas-valve needle that moves distally relative to said gas-valve tube along a closing direction when transitioning to said closed state, wherein said gas-valve needle comprises a sealing surface and a choke distal to said sealing surface, said choke having a choke diameter that is smaller than said constriction diameter, thereby permitting said choke to pass through said constriction during distal movement of said gas-valve needle.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve comprises a gas-valve tube and a gas-valve needle that moves distally relative to said gas-valve tube along a closing direction when transitioning to said closed state, wherein said gas-valve tube comprises a seal seat, a constriction distal to said seal seat, and a slot distal to said constriction, said slot being one of annular and lateral, and wherein said gas-valve needle comprises a sealing surface, a choke distal to said sealing surface, and a shaft that extends between said choke and said sealing surface, said choke having a choke diameter that is less than a diameter of said constriction, thereby permitting said choke to pass through said constriction during distal movement of said gas-valve tube.

6. A method for using a filling element that comprises comprising a fluid channel through which liquid filling-material provided by a filling-material tank flows, a liquid valve in said fluid channel, a discharge opening downstream of said liquid valve for discharging said filling material into a container with said liquid valve opened, a gas channel having a gas opening through which gas flows into said container, and a gas valve that controls flow of gas through said gas channel, wherein said gas opening either extends into or faces said container during filling thereof and wherein said gas valve is configured to transition between a plurality of discrete states, said states comprising a fully-open state, a closed state, and at least one partially-open state, said method comprising causing said gas valve to be in said partially-open state to dry filling-material residues in said gas channel of said filling element, said method further comprising filling said container with liquid filing-material drawn from said filling-material tank, whereby gas flows through said gas channel at a speed that is slower than a speed that results when said gas valve is in said fully-open state, said fully-open state and said partially-open state having different flow resistances.

7. A method for using a filling element that comprises comprising a fluid channel through which liquid filling-material provided by a filling-material tank flows, a liquid valve in said fluid channel, a discharge opening downstream of said liquid valve for discharging said filling material into a container with said liquid valve opened, a gas channel having a gas opening through which gas flows into said container, and a gas valve that controls flow of gas through said gas channel, wherein said gas opening either extends into or faces said container during filling thereof and wherein said gas valve is configured to transition between a plurality of discrete states, said states comprising a fully-open state, a closed state, and at least one partially-open state, said method comprising pressurizing said container with a pressurizing gas, opening said liquid valve, and opening said gas valve, whereby said filling material drawn from said filling-material tank and flowing via said gas channel through said discharge opening and into said container displaces pressurizing gas that is in said container through said gas channel, wherein, while said container is being filled with said filling material, causing said gas valve to transition into said partially-open state for at least a portion of time during which filling with said filling material takes place, whereby inflow speed of said filling material is lower than it would have been had said gas valve been in said fully-open state.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said states comprise first, second, and third partially-open states that have different flow resistances.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve is configured to transition into said partially-open state after said container has been filled and while said gas opening is still located in said container.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve is configured to transition into said partially-open state while no container is sealed at said filling element.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said gas valve is configured to transition into said partially-open state immediately before flushing said container.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said gas valve is configured to transition into said partially-open state immediately before pressurizing said container.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said gas valve is configured to transition into said partially-open state as a first step of flushing said co

Assignees

• Khs Gmbh

Inventors

• CLüSSERATH LUDWIG
• Krulitsch Dieter-Rudolf
• Lohner Andreas
• Bruch Bernd

Classifications

• B67C3/282

  related to filling level control (B67C3/2617, B67C3/2625 take precedence) · CPC title

• B67C3/12 Primary

  Pressure-control devices · CPC title

• B67C3/20

  with provision for metering the liquids to be introduced, e.g. when adding syrups (measuring volume, or volume flow, in general G01F) · CPC title

• B67C3/286

  related to flow rate control, i.e. controlling slow and fast filling phases · CPC title