A jam filling assembly, method and filling apparatus having the same

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of jam filling assembly, method and the filling equipment with the assembly, belong to food filling equipment technical field, filling assembly includes valve body, first driving mechanism, switching piston rod, second driving mechanism and metering piston rod;Valve body sets up feed channel, metering cavity, discharge channel, switching piston rod is equipped with through hole in and is driven sliding by first driving mechanism, can switch two kinds of passageway, metering piston rod sliding changes the volume of metering cavity;Filling equipment integrates multiple groups of the filling assembly, supporting clamping, synchronous adjusting mechanism.The present application relies on single switching piston rod to complete multiple passageway switching, without independent separate feed, discharge valve;Multiple components can be synchronously driven, unified regulation, structure is simple, no rotating valve core is not easy to jam jam, quantitative filling precision is high, material passageway dead angle is less, it is convenient to wash maintenance, adapts to high viscosity jam continuous filling production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of food filling equipment technology, and is particularly applicable to quantitative filling devices for viscous materials such as jams and sauces. Background Technology

[0002] Jam is a high-viscosity, viscous food material. Currently, there are two common types of structures for quantitative filling mechanisms for jams:

[0003] Firstly, it uses an independent feed valve and discharge valve paired with a metering cylinder. The two sets of valves are driven separately, resulting in a large number of structural components, multiple sets of cylinders working together for control, and complex control logic.

[0004] Secondly, the rotary valve metering and filling mechanism uses valve core rotation to switch channels. Thick jams are prone to accumulate and get stuck in the valve core gap, the seal is easily worn, and maintenance is frequent.

[0005] In existing technologies, the feeding channel, metering chamber, and discharging channel are controlled by multiple independent valve assemblies, requiring at least two sets of independent valve actuators. This results in large equipment size and high difficulty in synchronous control. Furthermore, the material channels within the valve body have many bends, making it easy for jam to accumulate and breed bacteria, and cleaning is difficult. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an integrated filling device with a simplified structure that automatically switches between multiple channels using a single piston rod, enabling precise quantitative filling of viscous jam. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a jam filling device that sequentially switches between three workstations—feeding and filling, channel closure, and discharging and filling—through the linear up-and-down movement of a single switching piston rod. This reduces the number of independent valves, simplifies the drive mechanism, provides rapid channel switching response, and offers high quantitative accuracy, making it suitable for filling high-viscosity jams.

[0007] The technical solution adopted in this invention to solve the technical problem is as follows:

[0008] A jam filling assembly includes a valve body, a first drive mechanism, a switching piston rod, a second drive mechanism, and a metering piston rod;

[0009] The valve body is provided with a feeding channel, a metering chamber and a discharging channel. The first driving mechanism is installed on the valve body and drives the switching piston rod to slide relative to the valve body in a sealed manner. The switching piston rod is provided with a through hole inside.

[0010] The switching piston rod can slide to form two pathway states: in the first pathway state, the feed channel is connected to the metering chamber through the through hole, while the discharge channel is blocked; in the second pathway state, the connection between the feed channel and the metering chamber is cut off, and the metering chamber is connected to the discharge channel.

[0011] The metering piston rod is sealed and slidably assembled inside the metering cavity. The second driving mechanism is installed in the metering cavity and drives the metering piston rod to slide relative to the metering cavity in a sealed manner. In the first passage state, the metering piston rod moves backward under the action of the second driving mechanism, adsorbing the jam in the feeding channel and entering the metering cavity through the through hole. In the second passage state, the metering piston rod moves forward under the operation of the second driving mechanism, pushing the jam in the metering cavity into the discharge channel for filling.

[0012] Further technology of the present invention:

[0013] Preferably, the bottom of the switching piston rod is provided with a first chamfer and a second chamfer facing opposite directions. The first chamfer is used to block the discharge channel in the first passage state, and the second chamfer is used to block the communication channel between the metering chamber and the switching piston rod in the second passage state.

[0014] Preferably, the metering piston rod adjusts the effective volume of the metering cavity by sliding.

[0015] The present invention also provides a filling method based on the aforementioned jam filling component, comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1. Filling step: The first drive mechanism drives the switching piston rod to slide to the first working position. The feeding channel is connected to the metering cavity through the material receiving cavity inside the switching piston rod. The switching piston rod closes the discharge channel. The metering piston rod slides backward to increase the volume of the metering cavity. The jam flows into the metering cavity from the feeding pipe.

[0017] S2. Isolation switching steps: The first drive mechanism drives the switching piston rod to slide to the second working position, cutting off the connection between the feeding channel and the metering chamber, and connecting the metering chamber with the discharge channel;

[0018] S3. Discharge and filling steps: The metering piston rod slides forward to squeeze the material in the metering chamber, and the material is discharged outward through the discharge pipe;

[0019] Continuous quantitative filling is achieved by repeatedly executing steps S1 to S3.

[0020] The present invention also provides a filling device, comprising multiple sets of the aforementioned jam filling components.

[0021] Furthermore, in the multi-set jam filling assembly, the metering chamber is clamped and positioned by an upper clamping plate and a lower clamping plate, which are fastened together by bolts.

[0022] Furthermore, in the multiple jam filling assemblies, the second drive mechanism is connected to the same connecting plate, and the connecting plate is equipped with an adjustment mechanism to adjust the initial position of the second drive mechanism.

[0023] Furthermore, the adjustment mechanism includes a starter motor mounted on the upper clamping plate, and the output shaft of the drive motor is connected to a drive gear;

[0024] The adjustment mechanism also includes a rack connected to the connecting plate;

[0025] The drive gear meshes with the rack for transmission.

[0026] Furthermore, both ends of the upper clamping plate are provided with rotating shafts, the upper end of the rotating shaft is provided with a pulley, and the lower end is connected to a driven gear. The pulleys of the rotating shafts at both ends are connected by belts, and the driving gear meshes with one of the driven gears.

[0027] Furthermore, the feeding channels in multiple jam filling assemblies are connected to the same feeding pipe.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0029] This invention relies on the linear reciprocating motion of a single vertical switching piston rod to complete a series of channel switching actions, including feeding, metering, feeding channel isolation, and discharging channel opening. This eliminates the need for separate feeding and discharging valves, reducing the number of cylinders and sealing components, and lowering equipment costs and potential failure points.

[0030] All channel switching is achieved by the axial sealing position on the outer wall of the piston rod. There is no rotating valve core, so there will be no problem of viscous jam getting stuck in the valve core. The operation is stable and the sealing life is longer.

[0031] The volume of the metering chamber is precisely adjusted by the metering piston rod. The volume of a single filling is determined by the stroke of the metering piston rod, resulting in high quantitative accuracy and making it suitable for continuous filling production of high-viscosity materials such as jam.

[0032] The layout of the passageway is simple and smooth with few dead corners, making it easy to disassemble and clean the equipment or clean it online, which complies with food production hygiene standards. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a jam filling component provided by the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a jam filling component provided by the present invention.

[0036] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the switching piston rod provided by the present invention.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of a filling equipment according to the present invention.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a front view diagram of the assembly of a filling equipment provided by the present invention.

[0039] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the AA section.

[0040] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of the adjustment mechanism of the present invention, showing the layout of the rotating column, sine slide, pulley, drive rod, and mixing disc through hole.

[0041] Figure 8 for Figure 7 A bottom view of the structure.

[0042] In the attached diagram: 10-valve body; 11-first drive mechanism; 12-switching piston rod; 13-second drive mechanism; 14-metering piston rod; 15-feed channel; 16-metering chamber; 17-discharge channel; 18-through hole; 19-first chamfer; 20-second chamfer; 21-upper clamping plate; 22-lower clamping plate; 23-bolt; 24-connecting plate; 25-starting motor; 26-drive gear; 27-rack; 28-rotating shaft; 29-pulley; 30-driven gear; 31-belt; 32-feed pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0044] Example 1: Single-unit jam filling assembly: such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment discloses a single jam filling assembly, the core components of which include a valve body 10, a first drive mechanism 11, a switching piston rod 12, a second drive mechanism 13, and a metering piston rod 14.

[0045] The valve body 10 is an integral valve block structure. The valve body 10 has a horizontally through feed channel 15 on its side and a vertically arranged discharge channel 17 at the bottom. The valve body 10 has a horizontally extended metering cavity 16 on its right side. The valve body 10 has a vertical guide hole at its upper part. A dynamic sealing element is installed in the guide hole, and the switching piston rod 12 is sealed and slidably assembled in the guide hole.

[0046] The first drive mechanism 11 is a cylinder, fixedly installed at the top of the valve body 10. The cylinder output shaft is rigidly connected downwards to the top of the switching piston rod 12, driving the switching piston rod 12 to reciprocate vertically. Figure 3 As shown, the switching piston rod 12 is a hollow rod with a through hole 18 formed axially inside as a material flow channel. The lower end of the switching piston rod 12 has two chamfered facets facing opposite directions, namely a first chamfer 19 and a second chamfer 20. The first chamfer 19 faces downwards; when the switching piston rod 12 descends to the first passage state, the first chamfer 19 fits against the upper sealing surface of the discharge channel 17 of the valve body 10, blocking the discharge channel 17. The second chamfer 20 faces upwards; when the switching piston rod 12 ascends to the second passage state, the second chamfer 20 blocks the connection between the through hole 18 and the metering chamber 16, cutting off the material flow between the feed channel 15 and the metering chamber 16.

[0047] A metering piston rod 14 is horizontally mounted inside the metering cavity 16. The right end of the metering piston rod 14 extends out of the metering cavity 16 and is connected to the output end of the second drive mechanism 13. The second drive mechanism 13 also uses a cylinder, which can drive the metering piston rod 14 to slide horizontally back and forth along the metering cavity 16. By changing the length of the metering piston rod 14 extending into the metering cavity 16, the effective volume of jam that can be contained inside the metering cavity 16 can be adjusted.

[0048] Complete workflow for a single filling unit:

[0049] Filling station (first passage state): The first drive mechanism 11 extends, pushing the switching piston rod 12 to slide downwards. The upper end of the through hole 18 inside the switching piston rod 12 aligns with the feeding channel 15, and the feeding channel 15, through hole 18, and metering chamber 16 are connected. At this time, the first chamfer 19 at the bottom of the switching piston rod 12 presses against the upper end of the discharge channel 17, completely blocking the discharge channel 17. The second drive mechanism 13 pulls the metering piston rod 14 to the right and back, increasing the internal volume of the metering chamber 16. The jam conveyed by the feeding pipe 32 flows into the metering chamber 16 through the feeding channel 15 and through hole 18 to complete the filling.

[0050] Pathway switching station: After the filling is completed, the first drive mechanism 11 retracts, pulling the switching piston rod 12 to slide upward. After the switching piston rod 12 moves upward, the second chamfer 20 blocks the connection between the through hole 18 and the metering cavity 16, and the feed channel 15 is disconnected from the metering cavity 16; the upper end of the discharge channel 17 is unblocked, and the metering cavity 16 is connected to the bottom discharge channel 17.

[0051] Discharge and filling station (second passage state): The second drive mechanism 13 pushes the metering piston rod 14 forward to the left, the metering piston rod 14 squeezes the jam in the metering cavity 16, and the jam flows down along the discharge channel 17 to complete the filling of a single quantitative jam; after filling is completed, the above actions are repeated to realize continuous filling operation.

[0052] Example 2: Multi-station filling equipment, such as Figure 4-8 :

[0053] This embodiment discloses a filling device that integrates multiple sets of filling components from Embodiment 1. The whole machine includes 18 sets of jam filling components, clamping modules, synchronous adjustment mechanisms, and a main feed pipeline.

[0054] Module clamping assembly structure:

[0055] like Figure 4 , Figure 6 As shown, all filling components are arranged equidistantly along a straight line. All valve bodies 10 and metering chambers 16 are uniformly clamped between the upper clamping plate 21 and the lower clamping plate 22. The upper clamping plate 21 and the lower clamping plate 22 fit together to wrap around the outer wall of each metering chamber 16. Multiple sets of bolts 23 are evenly arranged along the length of the clamping plates, passing through the upper clamping plate 21 and the lower clamping plate 22 to complete the locking and fixing. The clamping structure can ensure that the coaxiality of multiple filling components is consistent. During disassembly and cleaning, the bolts 23 can be loosened to disassemble a single filling component, making maintenance convenient.

[0056] Feed path structure:

[0057] All filling components' feed channels 15 are connected to the same feed pipe 32. The feed pipe 32 is horizontally mounted above the upper clamping plate 21, supplying jam to all filling components in a unified manner to ensure that the feeding pressure of each group is consistent and the filling volume is uniform.

[0058] Metering piston rod synchronous adjustment mechanism:

[0059] The second drive mechanism 13 of multiple filling components is fixed on the same connecting plate 24. The connecting plate 24 can slide horizontally along the length of the equipment to uniformly adjust the initial position of all metering piston rods 14 and synchronously change the maximum effective volume of all metering chambers 16, so as to realize the uniform adjustment of the filling capacity of the whole machine.

[0060] The power source is a starter motor 25, which is fixedly installed on the top surface of the upper clamping plate 21. The motor output shaft is connected to the drive gear 26. The rack 27 is fixed on the side of the connecting plate 24. The drive gear 26 meshes with the rack 27 for transmission. When the motor rotates, it can drive the rack 27 and the connecting plate 24 to move horizontally.

[0061] To achieve synchronous transmission at both ends of the equipment, vertically arranged rotating shafts 28 are respectively set at the left and right ends of the upper clamping plate 21. The upper end of the rotating shaft 28 is fixed with a pulley 29, and the lower end is fixed with a driven gear 30. The pulleys 29 on both sides are linked by the same belt 31. The driving gear 26 meshes with the driven gear 30 on either side. The motor output power can synchronously drive the rotating shafts 28 at both ends to rotate, so that the connecting plate 24 is evenly stressed at both ends, slides without deviation, and ensures that the adjustment stroke of all metering piston rods 14 is completely synchronized.

[0062] The machine uses a single feed pipe 32 for feeding multiple filling components, allowing for simultaneous filling of multiple bottles of jam. All metering piston rods 14 rely on a set of motor gear rack mechanism to synchronously adjust the filling capacity, eliminating the need to adjust each component individually. A single switching piston rod 12 simultaneously switches the feed and discharge channels, eliminating the need for separate feed and discharge valves. This results in fewer parts, reduces the likelihood of viscous jam getting stuck in the valve core, lowers the equipment failure rate, eliminates hygiene dead spots during cleaning, and meets food processing hygiene standards.

[0063] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to jam filling, but can be adapted to quantitative filling of various high-viscosity materials such as salad dressing, peanut butter, and paste fillings; in addition to cylinders, the drive mechanism can also be replaced by electric push rods or servo linear modules, all of which are equivalent alternative embodiments of the present invention and fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0064] Furthermore, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, without necessarily requiring or implying any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0065] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely illustrative of the invention. These preferred embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the invention to the specific implementations described. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of the invention, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize the invention. The invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A jam filling assembly, characterized in that, It includes a valve body (10), a first drive mechanism (11), a switching piston rod (12), a second drive mechanism (13), and a metering piston rod (14); The valve body (10) is provided with a feeding channel (15), a metering chamber (16) and a discharging channel (17). The first driving mechanism (11) is installed on the valve body (10) and drives the switching piston rod (12) to slide relative to the valve body (10) in a sealed manner. The switching piston rod (12) is provided with a through hole (18). The switching piston rod (12) can slide to form two pathway states: in the first pathway state, the feed channel (15) is connected to the metering chamber (16) through the through hole (18), while the discharge channel (17) is blocked; in the second pathway state, the connection between the feed channel (15) and the metering chamber (16) is cut off, and the metering chamber (16) and the discharge channel (17) are connected. The metering piston rod (14) is sealed and slidably assembled inside the metering cavity (16). The second driving mechanism (13) is installed in the metering cavity (16) and drives the metering piston rod (14) to slide in a sealed manner relative to the metering cavity (16). In the first passage state, the metering piston rod (14) is moved backward by the action of the second driving mechanism (13) and the jam in the feed channel (15) is adsorbed and enters the metering cavity (16) through the through hole (18). In the second passage state, the metering piston rod (14) is moved forward by the operation of the second driving mechanism (13) and pushes the jam in the metering cavity (16) into the discharge channel (17) for filling.

2. The jam filling assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the switching piston rod (12) is provided with a first chamfer (19) and a second chamfer (20) facing opposite directions. The first chamfer (19) is used to block the discharge channel (17) in the first passage state, and the second chamfer (20) is used to block the communication channel between the metering cavity (16) and the switching piston rod (12) in the second passage state.

3. The jam filling assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metering piston rod (14) adjusts the effective volume of the metering cavity (16) by sliding.

4. A filling method based on a jam filling assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Filling step: The first drive mechanism (11) drives the switching piston rod (12) to slide to the first working position. The feeding channel (15) is connected to the metering cavity (16) through the internal through hole (18) of the switching piston rod (12). The switching piston rod (12) closes the discharge channel (17). The metering piston rod (14) slides backward to increase the volume of the metering cavity (16). The jam flows into the metering cavity (16) from the feeding pipe (32). S2, Isolation switching steps: The first drive mechanism (11) drives the switching piston rod (12) to slide to the second working position, cutting off the connection between the feeding channel (15) and the metering chamber (16), and the metering chamber (16) and the discharge channel (17) are connected; S3, Discharge and filling steps: The metering piston rod (14) slides forward to squeeze the material in the metering cavity (16), and the material is discharged outward through the discharge channel (17); Continuous quantitative filling is achieved by repeatedly executing steps S1 to S3.

5. A filling device, characterized in that: It includes the jam filling assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. A filling device according to claim 5, characterized in that: In the multi-set jam filling assembly, the metering chamber (16) is clamped and positioned by the upper clamping plate (21) and the lower clamping plate (22), and the upper clamping plate (21) and the lower clamping plate (22) are fastened together by bolts (23).

7. A filling device according to claim 6, characterized in that: In the multi-set jam filling assembly, the second drive mechanism (13) is connected to the same connecting plate (24), and the connecting plate (24) is equipped with an adjustment mechanism to adjust the initial position of the second drive mechanism (13).

8. A filling device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism includes a starter motor (25) mounted on the upper clamping plate (21), the output shaft of which is connected to a drive gear (26); the adjustment mechanism also includes a rack (27) connected to the connecting plate (24); the drive gear (26) meshes with the rack (27) for transmission.

9. A filling device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The upper clamping plate (21) is provided with a rotating shaft (28) at both ends. The upper end of the rotating shaft (28) is provided with a pulley (29) and the lower end is connected to a driven gear (30). The pulleys (29) of the rotating shafts (28) at both ends are connected by a belt (31). The driving gear (26) meshes with one of the driven gears (30).

10. A filling device according to claim 5, characterized in that: In multiple jam filling assemblies, the feeding channel (15) is connected to the same feeding pipe (32).

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