Bottle filling arrangement for filling bottles and similar containers, such as glass bottles, with a beverage, and a method of operating a bottle filling arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11738983-B2
Application number	US-202117500010-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2021
Priority date	Apr 16, 2019
Publication date	Aug 29, 2023
Grant date	Aug 29, 2023

Abstract

A bottle filling arrangement for filling bottles and similar containers, such as glass bottles, with a beverage, and a method of operating a bottle filling arrangement.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A container filling arrangement for filling beverage bottles or similar containers with a liquid beverage or similar liquid filling material, the container filling arrangement comprising:
a rotor being rotatable about a vertical machine axis;
a reservoir being configured and disposed to store a supply of liquid beverage or similar liquid filling material;
filling devices being disposed about the circumference of said rotor;
said filling devices being operatively connected to said reservoir to permit dispensing of liquid filling material by said filling devices;
spray nozzle units being configured and disposed to spray said filling devices in a filling device treatment, wherein each of said filling devices may be sprayed independently of a rotary position of said rotor;
each of said spray nozzle units being mounted adjacent a corresponding filling device and to rotate with the corresponding filling device;
each of said spray nozzle units comprising a nozzle opening being disposed to face towards its corresponding filling device;
said spray nozzle units comprising valves configured to be opened and closed to start and stop spraying of said filling devices; and
an electronic control unit operatively connected to said valves to individually control the opening and closing of said valves to selectively activate said nozzles individually, in a plurality, or in specific groups.

2. The container filling arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the container filling arrangement comprises separation plates disposed between adjacent filling devices to minimize contamination of filling devices by glass shards or splinters generated by a breakage of a glass beverage bottle or similar container at an adjacent filling device.

3. The container filling arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein: each of said filling devices comprises a pressure sensor;
said pressure sensors are configured and disposed to measure pressure in containers handled by said filling devices; and
said pressure sensors are operatively connected to said control arrangement.

4. The container filling arrangement according to claim 3 , wherein:
said pressure sensors are operatively connected to said control arrangement;
said control arrangement is configured, upon detection of a sudden drop in pressure from an expected pressure inside a glass beverage bottle or similar container corresponding to a breakage of the glass beverage bottle or similar container, to determine a contaminated condition of said corresponding filling device, in which said corresponding filling device is contaminated by at least one of:
glass splinters, glass shards, and liquid beverage or similar liquid filling material; and
said control arrangement is configured to individually activate at least one spray nozzle unit disposed at said contaminated filling device to spray said contaminated filling device with spray medium to remove at least one of:
glass splinters, glass shards, and liquid beverage or similar liquid filling material from said contaminated filling device.

5. The container filling arrangement according to claim 4 , wherein the container filling arrangement comprises separation plates disposed between adjacent filling devices to minimize contamination of filling devices by glass shards or splinters generated by a breakage of a glass beverage bottle or similar container at an adjacent filling device.

6. The container filling arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein:
said filling arrangement comprises a vertical machine axis about which said rotor is disposed to rotate;
said spray nozzle units are disposed closer to said vertical machine axis, along a substantially radial direction with respect to said vertical machine axis, than their corresponding filling devices;
said nozzle openings are disposed to face away from said vertical machine axis and toward an inner portion of each of their corresponding filling devices to permit said spray nozzle units to emit a spray jet toward said inner portions.

7. The container filling arrangement according to claim 6 , wherein:
each of said filling devices comprises at least one filling pipe;
said spray nozzle units comprise filling pipe spray nozzle units configured and disposed to spray their corresponding filling pipes; and
each of said nozzle openings of said filling pipe spray nozzle units is disposed at a vertical position with respect to the horizontal having a similar height as a vertical position of its corresponding filling pipe.

8. The container filling arrangement according to claim 7 , wherein said reservoir comprises one of (A) or (B):
(A) a ring tank disposed at said rotor and configured to rotate with said rotor, wherein said filling elements are connected to and supported by said ring tank; or
(B) a stationary central container; and a pipe ring tank operatively connected to said stationary central container, wherein said pipe ring tank is disposed at said rotor and configured to rotate with said rotor, and wherein said filling elements are connected to and supported by said ring tank.

9. The container filling arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein:
the container filling arrangement further comprises at least one ring line disposed in an interior space within said rotor;
said at least one ring line is attached to an inner side of said rotor and is configured and disposed to rotate with said rotor; and
said at least one ring line is operatively connected to said spray nozzle units to supply said spray nozzle units with a spray medium.

10. The container filling arrangement according to claim 9 , wherein:
the container filling arrangement further comprises a well disposed to concentrically surround said vertical machine axis and said interior space of said rotor; and
said wall is disposed closer to said vertical machine axis, along a substantially radial direction, than said filling devices, such that said filling devices are disposed in an outer area outside of said interior space.

11. The container filling arrangement according to claim 10 , wherein said spray nozzle units are disposed at or on said wall such that said nozzle openings are disposed on an outer side of said wall facing towards said outer area.

12. The container filling arrangement according to claim 11 , wherein each of said spray nozzle units comprises a spray nozzle unit body that is either:
mounted completely on the other side of said wall; or
mounted in said wall, such that an inner portion of said spray nozzle unit body is disposed in said interior space within said wall and an outer portion of said spray nozzle unit body is disposed in said outer area outside of said wall.

13. The container filling arrangement according to claim 12 , wherein:
said spray nozzle units comprise spray nozzle unit groups comprising at least two spray nozzle units;
each of said spray nozzle unit groups is disposed at and configured to spray one corresponding filling device; and
each of said spray nozzle units in said spray nozzle unit groups comprise one of:
an individually-controlled spray nozzle unit configured to be activated at different times or at the same time; and
a group-controlled spray nozzle unit configured to be activated only at the same time as all other spray nozzle units in said spray nozzle group.

14. The container filling arrangement according to claim 13 , wherein said valves comprise pneumatically-controlled valves.

15. The container filling arrangement according to claim 14 , wherein: each of said filling devices comprises a pressure sensor;
said pressure sensors are configure

Assignees

• Khs Gmbh

Inventors

• CLüSSERATH LUDWIG

Classifications

• B67C7/004 Primary

  the containers travelling along a circular path · CPC title

• B05B12/02

  for controlling time, or sequence, of delivery · CPC title

• B67C2007/006

  Devices particularly adapted for container filling · CPC title

• B67C3/005 Primary

  Cleaning outside parts of filling devices · CPC title

• B67C3/001

  Cleaning of filling devices · CPC title