JPH0530713B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a liquid filling method for filling various liquid foods and the like into containers having an opening on the top surface.

(Prior art and its problems) In the conventional general liquid filling method, the lower end opening of the filling tube is connected to the opening of the container placed at the liquid filling work position, and the filling tube is inserted into the container. The method was to fill it with liquid. In such a filling method, the liquid falls freely from the filling tube to a distance approximately equal to the height of the container in the initial stage of filling, and the free falling distance of the liquid does not become sufficiently small until the filling is almost full.
Therefore, depending on the liquid, the amount of air taken in during the free fall increases, resulting in undue foaming, and therefore it cannot be used for filling liquids where foaming must be avoided.

Therefore, a filling method was considered in which the filling tube is inserted from the opening of the container to a position close to the inner bottom of the container, and then moved so as to be removed from the container as the filling progresses, but the filling flow rate and the moving speed of the filling tube are limited. Since the amount was constant, it was not possible to efficiently fill the liquid while preventing adverse effects on the filling weight measuring system, bubbling of the filling liquid, or blowing out of the liquid from the opening when the filling was full.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention proposes a liquid filling method that can solve the conventional problems as described above. A vertical filling tube located directly above an opening provided on the top surface of the container is moved relatively close to each other in the vertical direction, and the filling tube enters the container from the opening of the container, and the filling tube is closed. When the lower end discharge port reaches the vicinity of the inner bottom surface of the container, low-speed filling with a small flow rate is started without changing the vertical relative position of the container and the filling pipe,
Next, we switch to high-speed filling in which we fill at a large flow rate while moving the container and the filling tube relatively apart in the vertical direction so that the liquid level is maintained near the lower end discharge port of the filling tube. The point is to return to low-speed filling with a small flow rate without changing the vertical relative position of the container and the filling tube, and to fill the container to its full capacity.

(Example) A filling device suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention will be described below based on the attached illustrative drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a conveyor for conveying containers, and a pair of left and right gears are hung between a drive gear 3 rotated by a motor 2 and a take-up idle gear 4. conveyor chain 5a, 5
b, a chain guide rail 6 that supports and guides the upper going route of the chains 5a, 5b, and a chain guide rail 7 that supports and guides the lower going route of the chains 5a, 5b. It is preferable that the chains 5a, 5b have each chain link a smooth receiving surface made of plastic that can make smooth relative sliding contact with the bottom surface of the container.

8 is a liquid filling work position set in the container transport path by the container transport conveyor 1,
It is provided with a pair of left and right lifting platforms 9a and 9b arranged so as to sandwich the conveyor chains 5a and 5b therebetween, and a stopper 10 which can be raised and lowered and arranged between the conveyor chains 5a and 5b. Reference numeral 11 denotes a vertical filling pipe disposed at a predetermined position above the liquid filling position 8, and communicates with a discharge portion of a pump 13 for pumping liquid via a fixed pipe 12. 14 is a variable speed motor that drives the pump 13.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a conveyor-top container lifting means disposed between the starting end of the container transport path by the container transport conveyor 1 and the liquid filling work position 8, with the conveyor chains 5a and 5b sandwiched therebetween. The stock stands 16a on both the left and right sides are arranged as shown in FIG.
16b, a stock stand 16c disposed between the conveyor chains 5a and 5b, and means 17 for driving the stock stands 16a to 16c up and down. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the stock platforms 16a to 16c are connected to connecting members 18 at positions near both ends so that the upper surfaces thereof are located on the same plane.
a and 18b, which are integrally connected to each other.
The elevating and lowering drive means 17
Lifting members 20a, 20b connected to positions near both ends of the cylinders 6a, 16b and supported so that they can only be raised and lowered via the lifting guide rod 19; and cylinder units 21a, 21b that individually drive the lifting and lowering members 20a, 20b up and down. It consists of When the cylinder units 21a and 21b have lowered the stock stands 16a to 16c to the lower limit position, the upper surfaces of the stock stands 16a to 16c are lower than the conveyor chain 5.
It is located at a lower position than the surfaces of a and 5b (container receiving surfaces).

Reference numeral 22 denotes a lifting container retracting means disposed in an appropriate length region on the upper side of the liquid filling work position 8, and a lifting container retracting means 22 is provided on the central stock stand 16c of the lifting means 15 for the container on the conveyor in the direction of the container conveyance path. A rack gear 23 supported so as to be movable back and forth;
It comprises a rack gear driving cylinder unit 24 attached to the bottom surface of the central stock stand 16c and connected to the rack gear 23. The rack gear 23 is connected to the stock stand 1.
The stock base 16a is supported so that the teeth protrude upwardly from the stock base 16c as shown in FIG.
16c is at the lower limit position, the teeth of the rack gear 23 are at a lower position than the surfaces (container receiving surfaces) of the conveyor chains 5a, 5b.

25a and 25b are the container conveyor 1;
These container guides are disposed on both left and right sides of the container transport path between the starting end of the container transport path and the liquid filling work position 8.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, each of the lifting tables 9a and 9b has a weight measuring table (load cell) 28 supported on a lifting board 27 whose four corners are supported by lifting guide rods 26 so as to be able to move only up and down. It is protruded from the upper side. The elevating and lowering driving means 29 for the elevating base plate 27 includes a pair of front and rear rotary screw shafts 31 which are screwed through female threaded bodies 30 fixed to the central portions of both front and rear ends of the elevating base plate 27 and whose upper and lower ends are supported in fixed positions.
a, 31b, spiral gears 32a, 32 fixed to the lower ends of both rotating screw shafts 31a, 31b.
b, a drive shaft 34 to which a pair of spiral gears 33a, 33b are fixed, which mesh with both spiral gears 32a, 32b, respectively; and a pulse motor 35, which rotates the drive shaft 34 in any forward or reverse direction at any speed. ing. Therefore, by driving the rotary screw shafts 31a and 31b in forward or reverse rotation by the pulse motor 35 to raise or lower the lifting board 27, the lifting tables 9a and 9b are raised or lowered together with the weight measuring table (load cell) 28. I can do it. The lifting speeds of the lifting tables 9a and 9b at this time can be freely changed by controlling the pulse motor 35. In addition, the lifting platform 9
Guides 36a, 36b for positioning containers in the left and right lateral directions and stoppers 37a, 37b for positioning in the container transport direction are protruded from the upper end container receiving surfaces of a, 9b.

The stopper 10 can be adjusted in position in the direction of the container conveyance path by a position adjustment means 38, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. This position adjustment means 38 is movably supported by a slide guide rod 39 installed parallel to the container transport path, and is movable by screwing into a rotating screw shaft 40 supported parallel to the slide guide rod 39. The stopper 10 is supported on the movable table 41 so as to be able to rise and fall freely via an elevating cylinder unit 42 and an elevating guide rod 43, and when the stopper 10 is lowered to the lowering limit position by the cylinder unit 42. , its upper end is conveyor chain 5
The position is lower than the upper surfaces (container receiving surfaces) of a and 5b. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating screw shaft 40 is interlocked with a rotating operating shaft 45 via a bevel gear 44, and is rotated by rotating a rotating handle 46 fixed to the outer end of the rotating operating shaft 45. By rotating the shaft 40 in any forward or reverse direction, the position of the stopper 10 can be adjusted back and forth along the container transport path via the moving table 41.

The fixed cover plate 47 installed between both conveyor chains 5a and 5b is provided with an opening that allows the stopper 10 to move back and forth, and the movable cover plate 4 covers this opening from below.
8 is the moving table 41 and the cylinder unit 42.
etc. via a bracket 49, and the stopper 10 moves up and down through an opening provided in the movable cover plate 48.

As shown in FIG. 10, the filling pipe 11 shown in FIG. It is composed of a lifting valve body 51 that opens and closes, and a cylinder unit 53 (see FIG. 1) that drives the lifting valve body 51 up and down via a lifting rod 52 that is connected to the upper end of the main pipe 50 and moves up and down inside the main pipe 50. This cylinder unit 53 lifts the lift valve body 5 via the lift rod 52.
1, a downwardly expanding conical annular discharge port 54 is formed between the lower end conical surface 50a of the main pipe 50 and the upper conical surface 51a of the lift valve body 51, as shown in FIG. When the lifting valve body 51 is raised and returned, the lower end conical surface 50a of the main pipe 50 and the upper conical surface 51a of the lifting valve body 51 are pressed against each other, and the annular discharge port 54 is closed. still,
This filling tube 11 is vertically attached to a fixed column 56 via the cylinder unit 53 and bracket 55, as shown in FIG.

Next, the filling method of the present invention using the above-mentioned liquid filling device will be specifically explained.

The liquid filling container (for example, commercially available 18 cans) 57 is
A container transport conveyor 1 (conveyor chains 5a, 5) is driven at a constant speed by a motor 2.
By being placed on the starting end of step (b) in a predetermined direction, it is transported at a constant speed toward the liquid filling work position 8. At this time, the conveyor upper container lifting means 15 (stock tables 16a to 16c) and the elevating tables 9a and 9b are at the lower limit position and are recessed to a lower position than the conveyor chains 5a and 5b,
The stopper 10 is at the upper limit position and protrudes above the conveyor chains 5a, 5b.

As shown in FIG. 12, the container 57 on the container transport conveyor 1 reaches the liquid filling work position 8, contacts the stopper 10, and stops. At this time, the filling tube 11 is positioned so that it is located directly above the opening 58 provided on the upper surface of the container 57. The subsequent container 57 stops in contact with the rear side of the container 57 that stopped at the liquid filling work position 8.

At the liquid filling work position 8, a container detection sensor (photoelectric switch) S1 is disposed on one side of the container transport conveyor 1 at an appropriate distance above the stopper 10, and furthermore, at the liquid filling work position 8, the stopper 10 A container opening detection sensor (photoelectric switch) S2 is provided to detect the upper surface opening 58 of the container 57 that has come into contact with and stopped, diagonally downward from the side of the ascending path of the container 57.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, after the sensor S1 is turned on, when a set time T1, which is slightly longer than the time required for the container 57 to come into contact with the stopper 10, has elapsed, the container opening detection sensor S2 is ON, each stock platform 16a to 16c of the conveyor upper container lifting means 15 is moved to the cylinder unit 21a, 21 of the lifting drive means 17.
b, the container is raised to a higher position than the conveyor chains 5a, 5b, and then the rack gear 23 of the lifting container retraction means 22 is moved to the cylinder unit 2.
4 causes it to move backward by a certain stroke.

As a result, each container 57 on the container transport conveyor 1 above the liquid filling operation position 8 is lifted from the conveyor 1 by the stock platforms 16a to 16c as shown in FIG. By the backward movement of the rack gear 23, the container 57 is slightly moved backward upwardly from the liquid filling work position 8 via the container lower peripheral edge curling portion 57a fitted into the valley portion of the rack gear 23. Therefore, each container 57 on the upper side of the liquid filling work position 8 waits without contacting the container transport conveyor 1, and as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
For the container 57 stopped at the liquid filling work position 8,
The container 57 immediately behind it is moved away to the rear. Thereafter, the filling program is executed as shown in FIG. 17, but if the sensor S2 is not ON, it is assumed that the opening 58 of the container 57 that has reached the liquid filling work position 8 is not at the predetermined position. It is possible to put an emergency stop on the entire device and issue a warning using a buzzer, emergency lights, etc. as necessary.

The filling program is executed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the elevating drive means 29
The lifting tables 9a and 9b are raised by the pulse motor 35, and the container 57, which has come into contact with the stopper 10 and stopped at the liquid filling work position 8, is supported by the lifting tables 9a and 9b and moves upward.

As the container 57 rises, the filling tube 11 relatively descends into the container 57 from the opening 58 of the container 57 . When the lifting platforms 9a and 9b reach the upper limit position L1 and stop, the lower end of the filling tube 11 is positioned a certain distance D (for example, about 50 mm) above the bottom surface of the container 57, as shown in FIG. are doing. In this state, as shown in FIG. 11, the lifting valve body 51 of the filling pipe 11 is lowered, the annular discharge port 54 is opened, and at the same time the pump 13 is driven at low speed, and the liquid to be filled is pumped from the filling pipe 11 into the container 5.
7 is filled at low speed. At this time, the liquid discharged from the annular discharge port 54 at the lower end of the filling tube 11 is diffused into a downwardly expanding conical shape, which, together with low-speed filling, eliminates the risk of shock to the weight measuring mechanism of the weighing table 28 at the start of filling. . In addition, stopper 10
After the lifting tables 9a and 9b are driven upward, they are lowered to below the conveyor 1.

The time T2 until the surface of the liquid filled in the container 57 reaches the vicinity of the lower end of the filling pipe 11 is calculated and set from the liquid flow rate during low-speed filling and the cross-sectional area of the space inside the container 57, and this setting is When time T2 has elapsed, the elevators 9a and 9b are lowered at a set speed, and at the same time the pump 13 is switched from low-speed drive to high-speed drive to start high-speed filling of liquid. The liquid flow rate during high-speed filling and the descending speed of the lifting tables 9a and 9b mean that the liquid surface in the container 57 is always at the filling pipe 11.
It is set so that it is kept near the lower end of . As mentioned above, since the liquid is spread downward from the filling tube 11 in a conical shape, even during the above-mentioned high-speed filling, when the filled liquid falls on the liquid surface, it is prevented from taking in air and causing bubbles. be done.

The lifting platform 9a, while being filled at high speed as described above,
When the container 57, which descends with the container 9b, descends to a position just before the lower end of the filling tube 11 comes out of the container opening 58, as shown in FIG. When descending to L2, the lowering of the elevators 9a and 9b is stopped, and at the same time, the pump 13 is switched from high speed drive to low speed drive, and low speed filling is performed again with the container stopped. The amount of liquid filled into the container 57 is automatically measured in terms of weight by the weight measuring table 28 that supports the container 57 via the lifting tables 9a and 9b. The measured weight of the filled liquid is the set weight (liquid weight corresponding to the predetermined filling amount for the container 57)
When the full amount signal is outputted, the pump 13
At the same time as the filling tube 11 is stopped, the annular discharge port 54 at the lower end of the filling pipe 11 is closed by the lifting valve body 51, and filling of the liquid into the container 57 is completed. As described above, by switching to low-speed filling from slightly before the full amount until the full amount, it is possible to prevent weight measurement errors due to inertial weight and to prevent the filling liquid from blowing out from the opening 58.

Next, the lifting platform 9a, which had stopped at the control position L2,
9b is driven downward again, and as shown in FIG. 15, when the elevators 9a, 9b reach the control position L3, which is just before the bottom of the container 57 on the elevators 9a, 9b transfers to the container conveyor 1, Lifting platform 9a, 9
The lowering drive speed of step b is switched to low speed, and the liquid-filled containers 57 on the lifting platforms 9a and 9b are gently lowered onto the container conveyor 1 (conveyor chains 5a and 5b). Then, the lifting platforms 9a and 9b are at the lower limit position, which is slightly lower than the conveyor 1.
By reaching L4 and stopping, the series of filling programs is completed.

The liquid-filled containers 57 that have been lowered onto the container transport conveyor 1 as described above are carried out from the liquid filling work position 8 by the conveyor 1. When this container 57 reaches the terminal position 59 of the conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. 16, and the container detection sensor (photoelectric switch) S3 disposed on one side of the conveyor 1 is turned on, Figure 16 and 1
Stopper 1 as shown in the flowchart in Figure 7.
0 is raised to the upper limit position, and then the stock stand 16a of the conveyor upper container lifting means 15
~16c is lowered to the lowering limit position below the conveyor 1.

As a result, each container 57 that has been lifted by the stock platforms 16a to 16c is lowered onto the container transport conveyor 1 (conveyor chains 5a, 5b), and is directed toward the liquid filling work position 8 by the conveyor 1. Once transported. Note that the liquid-filled container 57 transported to the terminal position 59 of the conveyor 1
Although not shown, it is possible to transfer the conveyor to the next conveyor connected to the conveyor 1 and continue conveyance.

If the specifications of the container 57 to be used, that is, the size and shape of the container 57, the position of the opening 58, etc., change, the position of the stopper 10, the horizontal position and height of the filling tube 11 should be changed according to these conditions. By changing and adjusting the positions of sensors S1 and S2, set times T1 and T2, ascent limit position L1 and control position L2 of lifting platforms 9a and 9b, various containers can be filled with liquid in the same manner as above. is possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the filling tube is fixed and the container is moved up and down, but conversely, the method of the present invention can be carried out using a filling device configured to fix the container and move the filling tube up and down. It is also possible to do so.

(Operations and Effects of the Invention) According to the liquid filling method of the present invention, which can be implemented as described above, at the start of filling, the container and the filling tube are connected to each other with the lower end discharge port of the filling tube located near the inner bottom surface of the container. Since low-speed filling is performed at a small flow rate without changing the vertical relative position of the filler, there is no risk of shock to the filling weight measuring system at the start of filling. Next, so that the liquid level is maintained near the lower end of the filling tube,
Since the container and the filling pipe are moved relatively apart in the vertical direction while switching to high-speed filling at a large flow rate, filling can be performed more efficiently than when performing low-speed filling at a small flow rate until the container is full. Moreover, since the distance over which the filling liquid freely falls from the filling tube to the liquid surface can be sufficiently reduced or eliminated, it is possible to effectively suppress bubbling of the filling liquid while performing high-speed filling with a large flow rate. Then, before the filling is full, the container is returned to low-speed filling with a small flow rate without changing the vertical relative position of the filling pipe, and the filling is continued until the filling is full, so that the inertia weight of the filling liquid It is possible to prevent errors from occurring in the filling weight measurement system, and it is also possible to prevent the filling liquid from blowing out from the opening of the container.

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, even if the liquid is easily foamable, it is possible to efficiently and accurately fill a predetermined amount without causing foaming or blowing out from the opening of the container. In particular, as shown in the embodiment, by discharging the liquid from the lower end discharge port of the filling tube in a downwardly expanding conical shape to perform the above-mentioned filling, the above-mentioned effect can be brought out even more markedly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a side view of the entire device, Figure 2 is a plan view of the entire container conveyance path, Figure 3 is a longitudinal side view of the same, Figure 4
The figure is a vertical sectional front view of the container conveyance path above the liquid filling operation position, FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view showing the operating state of the container lifting means on the conveyor, and FIG. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the liquid filling operation position;
Fig. 8 is a longitudinal side view of the same position with the stopper in the lowered state, Fig. 9 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing the lifting platform and its lifting/lowering drive means, Fig. 10 is a longitudinal side view of the filling tube, and Fig. 11 is A vertical sectional side view of the main parts of the filling tube showing a state in which the lower end discharge port is open, FIGS. 12 to 16 are schematic side views explaining the filling operation sequence, and FIGS. 17 and 18 are schematic side views showing the filling control procedure. This is a flowchart to explain. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Container transport conveyor, 2, 35... Motor, 5a, 5b... Conveyor chain, 8... Liquid filling work position, 9a, 9b... Lifting platform, 10...
...stopper, 11...filling pipe, 13...pump for pumping liquid, 15...means for lifting the container on the conveyor, 16a-16c...stock stand, 17...
Stock platform lifting/lowering drive means, 21a, 21b, 2
4, 42, 53... cylinder unit, 22...
...Lifting container retraction means, 23...Rack gear,
28...Weight measuring table (load cell), 29... Lifting table elevating drive means, 31a, 31b, 40... Rotating screw shaft, 38... Stopper position adjusting means, 50
... Filling pipe main pipe, 54 ... Annular discharge port, 57 ...
liquid filling container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In the liquid filling operation position, the container and the vertical filling pipe located directly above the opening provided on the upper surface of the container are moved relatively close to each other in the vertical direction, and the When the filling tube enters the container from the opening of the container and the lower end discharge port of the filling tube reaches the vicinity of the bottom surface of the container, low-speed filling is performed at a small flow rate without changing the vertical relative position of the container and the filling tube. start,
Next, we switch to high-speed filling in which we fill at a large flow rate while moving the container and the filling tube relatively apart in the vertical direction so that the liquid level is maintained near the lower end discharge port of the filling tube. A liquid filling method characterized by returning to low-speed filling with a small flow rate without changing the vertical relative position between the container and the filling pipe, and filling the container to full capacity. 2. The liquid filling method according to claim 1, wherein the filling is performed by discharging the liquid from the lower end discharge port of the filling tube in a downwardly expanding conical shape.