JPH0144597B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gas filling machine for filling a liquid containing a large amount of dissolved gas, such as a carbonated soft drink.

This type of gas filling machine basically has the following configuration. In other words, a liquid tank that stores liquid, a high-pressure gas chamber that stores high-pressure gas,
The container includes a liquid filling mechanism for filling the container with the liquid, and a gas filling mechanism for introducing the high pressure gas into the container. However, in this device, if the container is not supplied to the supply section of the liquid and gas filling mechanism, the valve of the liquid filling mechanism usually remains closed due to the gas pressure in the liquid tank, so the liquid cannot be released. However, unless some measure is taken, the valve of the gas filling mechanism will release the high pressure gas in the same way as when the container is supplied. For this reason, conventionally, a detection means for detecting that the container has been supplied to the filling mechanism is provided, and the container is placed in a predetermined position by receiving an electrical signal from the detection means or mechanically interlocking with the detection means. A safety mechanism is provided to release gas from the high pressure gas chamber only when set. However, because the external mechanism (cam) that operates the gas filling mechanism has a certain length due to the necessity of its function, multiple adjacent filling mechanisms cannot operate independently. As a result, if, for example, only one of the containers that are continuously transported is not connected, the filling mechanism of this container is activated and the release of gas cannot be avoided.

Furthermore, when the gas filling machine is operated at high speed, there is a possibility that the safety mechanism will not follow the safety mechanism sufficiently and will not be able to effectively perform its function.

In view of the above points, the present invention provides a gas filling machine that has a simple structure and a highly responsive safety mechanism, and includes an intermediate valve in the middle of a gas passage that supplies gas from a high-pressure gas chamber to a container. The intermediate valve is characterized in that it is opened and closed by a container receiving member that engages with the container mouth and moves up and down together with the container.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical tank for storing liquid L and gas G, and bottle stands 2 that can be raised and lowered at equal intervals in the circumferential direction are arranged below the periphery of the tank 1. The bottle stand 2 rotates around the axis of the tank 1 at the same angular velocity. An opening 3 is formed at the bottom periphery of the tank 1 at a position facing the bottle stand 2, and a passage member 5 having a passage 4 communicating with the opening 3 is fixed to the lower surface of the tank. There is. Reference numeral 6 denotes a container receiving member having an opening 7 that matches the passage 4, and the container receiving member 6 is supported via a guide rod 8 erected on the lower surface of the passage member 5 so as to be movable up and down. 8' is a stopper for preventing the container receiving member 6 from coming off from the guide rod 8.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a sealing member which forms the opening 7 and has a conical container opening guiding portion 10 below the opening 7, the upper surface of which is in contact with the passage member 5, and the lower surface of which is provided with the opening of the container C. By coming into elastic contact with each other, the inside of this container C and the passage 4 are isolated from the atmosphere.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a gas passage bored in the passage member 5. The inner end of the gas passage 11 opens into the passage 4 through the opening 12, and the other end is a high-pressure gas chamber for storing the high-pressure gas G'. It is connected to 13. gas passage 1
A gas supply valve 14 for opening and closing the gas passage 11 is provided near the opening 12 of the gas supply valve 1.
Gas passage 1 is located closer to the high pressure gas chamber 13 than 4.
1 is provided with an intermediate valve 15 that opens and closes the valve. The gas supply valve 14 is always connected to the gas passage 1 by a spring 16.
1 is energized toward the closing side (left side), but is opened by pressing the operation button 17 via an externally provided cam (not shown). On the other hand, the intermediate valve 15 is also energized by the spring 18 to constantly close the gas passage 11, but its operation button 19
At substantially the same time as the container receiving member 6 rises to bring the sealing member 9 into close contact with the passage member 5, the container receiving member 6 rises under pressure to open the gas passage 11. That is, this intermediate valve 15 opens when the container receiving member 6 rises, in other words,
When the container C is placed on the bottle stand 2 and lifted by the bottle stand 2, and the inside of the container C and the passage 4 are shut off from the atmosphere via the seal member 9 of the container receiving member 6, this intermediate valve 15 opens the gas passage 11. In addition, 20 is a snift hole for gradually releasing the high pressure gas in the container C into the atmosphere, and 21
is a snift valve that opens and closes this snift hole, and the snift valve 21 is normally energized by a spring 22 to close the snift hole 20, and is opened by pressing the operation button 23.

The upper end of the passage 4 is raised toward the opening 3 of the tank 1 to form an annular valve seat 24, and a valve body 26 of a valve stem 25, which will be described later, is seated on or separated from the valve seat 24. Then, seal the liquid L into the tank 1 or supply the liquid L to the container C. 27 is a cylindrical support member formed with a long hole 28 for introducing the liquid L into the opening 3;
Further, a valve stem 25 is supported on the shaft core so as to be movable up and down. The upper end of this valve stem 25 protrudes from the liquid level of the liquid L in the tank 1, and its top 40
An operating lever 41 that can press the valve stem top 40 is provided near the valve stem. That is, this operation lever 41 is fixed to the tip of a shaft 42 that is supported through the side wall of the tank 1, and can be rotated by rotating a handle 43 that is attached to a protrusion of the shaft 42 to the outside of the tank 1. Then, the valve stem 25 is pressed or opened.

Further, the above-mentioned funnel-shaped valve body 26 that expands downward is formed in the vicinity of the valve seat 24 of the valve stem 25, and the lower surface of this valve body 26 is in close contact with the valve seat 24 so that the inside and outside of the tank 1 can be Seal member 29 that maintains liquid tightness
is installed. A collar 30 is fitted onto the valve stem 25 near the surface of the liquid L, and the valve stem 25 is slidably supported by the support member 27 via the collar 30. A spring 32 is elastically loaded between the collar 30 and a protrusion 31 formed below the support member 27, so that the valve stem 25 is always urged upward. The elastic force of the spring 32 is slightly larger than the sum of the fluid pressure due to the liquid L in the tank 1 and the self-weight of the valve stem 25, so that the operating lever 41 opens the valve stem top 40 and the passage 4 The valve stem 25 is large enough to allow the valve stem 25 to rise when the pressure inside the tank 1 becomes approximately equal to the pressure of the gas G inside the tank 1. That is, when attempting to fill the container C with the liquid L in the tank 1, the operating lever 41 only needs to open the valve stem 25 to open the passage 4.
The gas pressure in tank 1, that is, the gas pressure in container C
The valve stem 25 is raised by the elastic force of the spring 32, and the valve body 26 is disengaged from the valve seat 24. On the other hand, when the liquid L is not filled, the operating lever 41 pushes down the valve stem 25 against the spring 32, and seats the valve body 26 on the valve seat 24. In addition, 33 is a locking member provided protrudingly on the valve body 26, and restricts the upward position of the valve stem 25 by interfering with the stepped portion 34 of the support member 27.

Further, the valve stem 25 extends further downward than the valve body 26 and passes through the passage 4 of the passage member 5, so that its lower end can enter into the container C, and this lower end position is the position after the container C is filled. It is set to be equal to the liquid level position. A discharge passage 35 is formed in the valve stem 25, and allows communication between the inside of the container C and the tank 1 through a hole 35' formed at the top of the discharge passage 35. 36 is the discharge passage 3
A ball valve provided at the lower end of the container C closes the lower hole 37 of the discharge passage 35 due to its own weight, and rises due to the gas pressure in the container C to open the discharge passage 35. Note that 38 is a protruding member that prevents the ball valve 36 from rising and blocking the discharge passage 35.

Since the apparatus of this embodiment has the above configuration, it operates as described above to fill the container C with the liquid L. That is, the container C supplied onto the bottle stand 2 from a container supply mechanism (not shown) is pushed up onto the bottle stand 2, and the container opening is brought into contact with the sealing member 9 of the container receiving member 6, and the container C is pushed up onto the bottle stand 2. Rise while pushing up 6. Then, when the seal member 6 comes into contact with the passage member 5, the inside of the container C is cut off from the atmosphere, and at approximately the same time, the container receiving member 6 presses the operation button 19 to open the intermediate valve 15. Next, as shown in FIG. 2a, the operation button 17 is pressed by a cam (not shown).
is pressed, the gas supply valve 14 is opened, and the gas G' in the high pressure gas chamber 13 is supplied into the container C.
At this time, when the gas pressure in the container C exceeds the gas pressure in the tank 1, this gas pushes up the ball valve 36 of the discharge passage 35 and flows onto the liquid level in the tank 1.

Then, after the gas supply valve 14 is closed, the operating lever 41 is rotated via the handle 43 under the action of a cam (not shown), opening the valve stem top 40 (FIG. 2b). As a result, the valve stem 25 is raised by the spring 32, and the valve body 26 is raised and opened to start supplying the liquid L to the container C. In this liquid filling process, the gas in the container C is discharged from the discharge passage 3.
Pass through 5 and escape into tank 1. Therefore, the liquid level in the container C is lower than the lower hole 3 of the valve stem 25.
7, the liquid level in this container C blocks the discharge passage 35 and disconnects it from the tank 1, so that the gas in the container C can no longer escape into the tank 1, and the liquid Although the inflow of L is stopped, the liquid that was already in the passage 4, which was flowing into the container C, flows down into the container C, and the liquid filling process is completed (Fig. 2C). At this time,
The liquid L has entered halfway into the discharge passage 35 due to the water head of the liquid L in the tank 1.

Then, the operating lever 41 swings due to the action of a cam (not shown), presses the valve stem 25, and presses the second valve stem 25.
As shown in FIG. d, the valve body 26 is seated on the valve seat 24. Next, the gas supply valve 14 is opened and the high pressure gas G' in the high pressure gas chamber 13 is again supplied to the container C, the liquid level in the container C is pushed down, and this liquid flows into the tank 1 through the discharge passage 35. The liquid level is adjusted to the lower end position of the valve stem 25, and the liquid level is set at the position shown in FIG. 2e. After that, the gas supply valve 14
is closed, and the snift valve 21 is opened, and the gas in the container C is gradually released into the atmosphere. After this sniffing action is completed, the container C is lowered as shown in FIG.
The gas filling process is then completed.

By the way, in this gas filling machine, when the container C is not supplied onto the bottle stand 2, the handle 43 and the operation buttons 17 and 23 are operated by the action of a cam (not shown) arranged around the outside of the tank 1. C
It is rotated or pressed regardless of the presence or absence of the liquid L, gas G and high pressure gas chamber 13 in the tank 1.
The gas G′ inside is never released. That is,
If the container C is not placed on the bottle stand 2, the container receiving member 6 remains lowered and does not press the operation button 19 of the intermediate valve 15, so the gas passage 11 remains closed. Even if the gas supply valve 14 is opened, gas G' is not released. On the other hand, regarding the valve stem 25, since the gas pressure in the tank 1 is higher than atmospheric pressure, even if the operation button 41 opens the valve stem top 40, the valve stem 25
Because it is pressed by gas pressure, it does not rise, and the valve body 26 does not open. Further, the gas G in the tank 1 is discharged from the ball valve 3 in the discharge passage 35.
6, so that it is not released into the atmosphere.

Note that the liquid level adjustment step shown in FIG. 2d may be omitted if the liquid level setting accuracy is not required to be exact. Further, the ball valve 36 is not limited to the lower end of the valve stem 25, but may be provided at the upper end or the intermediate portion.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, which is a gas filling machine for filling a liquid that tends to foam during filling, such as beer. That is, a filling nozzle 52 that reaches near the bottom of the container C to be filled is provided at the lower part of the filling mechanism 51 fixed below the liquid tank 50.
A pressure source 53 for supplying gas G to the container C and an exhaust chamber 54 for collectively exhausting the air or gas in the container C are disposed on the side of the container C. 55
Reference numeral 56 indicates a gas passage for introducing the gas fed under pressure from the pressure source 53 into the container C, and 56 indicates a gas supply valve that opens and closes the gas passage 55. The gas supply valve 56 is driven to open and close by a cam (not shown).

57 is an intermediate valve provided in the gas passage 55 separately from the gas supply valve 56;
It opens and closes when engaged with. That is, the container C is supplied directly below the filling mechanism 51 and rises while pushing up the container receiving member 58, and almost at the same time when the container receiving member 58 comes into contact with the lower surface of the filling mechanism 51, the intermediate valve 57 moves up the container receiving member 58. It is pushed up by member 58 and opened. As a result, the gas G is ready to be supplied into the container C, and is actually supplied by opening the gas supply valve 56. On the other hand, when the container C is not set at the filling processing position, the container receiving member 58 is not pushed up, so the intermediate valve 57 maintains the closed state.
Even when the gas supply valve 56 is opened, gas is not released through the gas passage 55.

Other configurations are similar to conventional gas filling machines. That is, 59 is the liquid L in the liquid tank 50.
When the valve body is not filled, it is pushed down by an operating means (not shown) to close the passage, but when it is filled, the spring 60 opens and closes the passage when the operating means is opened.
It rises due to the elastic force of and opens the passage. on the other hand,
61 is the air or gas in the container C.
It is connected to the exhaust chamber 54 by an exhaust passage for discharging the air from inside, 62 is an exhaust valve that opens and closes this exhaust passage 61, and 63 is a ball valve that prevents liquid from entering into this exhaust passage 61. The passage 61 communicates with the container C via a communication passage 64 formed in the filling nozzle 52. A snift passage 64 communicates the vicinity of the exhaust passage 54 with the gas passage 55;
5 is a snift valve that opens and closes the snift passage 64;
After filling the container C with the liquid L, it serves to exhaust the gas in the container C via the exhaust chamber 54.
That is, when the container C is set, the intermediate valve 57 is open and the snift valve 65 is opened to perform the snift action, and when the container C is not set, the intermediate valve 57 is closed. , even if the snift valve 65 is opened, no snift action is performed.

The basic operation of this second embodiment is the same as that of the conventional device, so the details will be omitted.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a safety mechanism that prevents gas from being released into the atmosphere with a simple structure, and because of the simple structure, the gas can be processed at high speed with excellent responsiveness. You can get stuffing filling machine.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Figures a to f are explanatory views of the operation of the embodiment device, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment. 1,50...Liquid tank, 4...Liquid passage, 6,5
8... Container receiving member, 11, 55... Gas passage, 1
3,53...Pressure source, 15,57...Intermediate valve, L
...Liquid, G, G'...Gas.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A liquid passage through which the liquid can flow is formed in a liquid tank that stores liquid, and a container receiving member having an opening that can communicate with the liquid passage is supported so as to be able to move up and down, and the container is attached to the container receiving member. It is connected to the liquid passage through the thrust-up container receiving member and communicates with a pressure source for supplying high-pressure gas through the gas passage, and controls the opening and closing of the opening/closing valve body of the liquid passage and the supply valve of the gas passage. In a gas filling machine for filling a container with the gas and liquid, a normally closed intermediate valve is provided in the middle of the gas passage and is engaged with a container receiving member pushed up by the container and held in an open position. A gas filling machine characterized by: