Filling valve

Abstract

To fill filling liquid, without foaming the filling liquid, into a container comprising: a cylindrical part formed with a mouth part; a diametrically enlarged part connected to the cylindrical part; and a drum part connected to the diametrically enlarged part.SOLUTION: An external shell diametrically reduced part 21B functioning as a valve seat is provided in a lower external shell member 21 of a filling valve 10, and a seal member 44 abutting on a mouth part Vm of the container V is provided in a lower end of the external shell diametrically reduced part. A diametrically reduced part 24B functioning as a valve element is provided, and a liquid passage 26 is formed between a valve rod 24 and an inner circumferential surface of the external shell member 20. A raising / lowering mechanism 22A raising / lowering the valve rod 24 thereby opening / closing a valve, is provided. A large diameter part 24C of the valve rod 24 comprises a fin 42 applying revolution force to the filling liquid and lower end part of the valve rod comprises a flare part 40 extending gradually downward. In a valve opened condition, the flare part 40 protrudes downward relative to an outflow port 21D of the lower end part of the filling nozzle and is positioned within a cylindrical part V1 of the container V, and guides a revolution flow of the filling liquid F revolved by the fin 42 to an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical part V1 of the container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filling valve and a filling method for filling a container with a filling liquid, the container having a cylindrical portion with a mouth portion formed at an upper end, an expanded diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the expanded diameter portion. [Background technology]

[0002] In a filling device that continuously fills containers with a filling liquid, if the filling liquid is suddenly poured into the container from a filling valve, foaming may occur and the filling liquid may overflow from the mouth of the container. For this reason, when filling carbonated drinks, which tend to foam, a filling valve is known that has a spreader on the outer periphery of the tip of a vent tube inserted into the container for exhaust, and prevents foaming by spreading the carbonated drink that flows down radially outward and causing it to flow along the inner surface of the container (see Patent Document 1). On the other hand, a configuration is also known in which, instead of providing a spreader to prevent foaming, a spirally inclined swirl vane is provided around the valve body to generate a swirling flow (Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4008574 [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 49-040677 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a configuration in which foaming is prevented by using a spreader to flow the filling liquid along the inner surface of a container as in Patent Document 1, the position and shape of the spreader must be set according to the shape of the inner surface of the container. In other words, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the position of the spreader must be adjusted according to the shape of the container, or the spreader or vent tube must be replaced.

[0005] On the other hand, in the configuration of Patent Document 2 that utilizes a swirling flow caused by a swirling vane, the filling liquid flowing into the container flows down along the inner surface of the container due to centrifugal force, so a spreader is not required, and there is no need to adjust the position of the spreader according to the shape of the container or replace the spreader or vent tube. However, in the configuration that uses a swirling vane, the swirling flow is weak immediately after the filling valve is opened, and while there is no problem with a container with a shape in which the inside diameter gradually increases, such as a beer bottle, in the case of a container with a shape in which the diameter increases rapidly from the mouth to the body, sufficient centrifugal force is not obtained to reach the inner surface of the body, and the filling liquid that flows in falls down without running along the inner surface of the container, and foaming still occurs.

[0006] The present invention has an objective of easily preventing bubbling of the filling liquid when filling a container having a cylindrical portion with a mouth formed at the upper end, an enlarged diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the enlarged diameter portion, regardless of the shape of the container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A filling valve according to a first aspect of the present invention is a filling valve for filling a container with a filling liquid, the container having a cylindrical portion with a mouth formed at an upper end, an enlarged diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the enlarged diameter portion, the filling valve comprising: a filling nozzle having a valve seat formed therein and having an outlet for the filling liquid at a lower end; a narrow diameter portion extending vertically through the inside of the filling nozzle, a large diameter portion above the narrow diameter portion, and a contracted diameter portion connecting the large diameter portion and the narrow diameter portion; a valve body that seats on the valve seat formed on the outer periphery of the contracted diameter portion and a valve body that seats on the valve seat and has an inner peripheral surface of the filling nozzle and a valve seat formed on the outer periphery of the contracted diameter portion and a valve seat formed on the inner periphery of the filling nozzle .... Circular a valve rod that defines a liquid passage; and a drive means that moves the valve rod up and down to open and close the valve body, Inside the filling nozzle, a small diameter portion, a reduced diameter portion functioning as the valve seat, and a large diameter portion are formed from the lower end in accordance with the shape of the valve rod, and a filling liquid supply portion to which a filling liquid supply pipe is connected is formed on an upper side surface of the filling nozzle above the large diameter portion; andthe valve rod is provided with swirling fins on the outer periphery of the large diameter section for applying a swirling force to the filling liquid flowing through the liquid passage, and a sloped surface extending downward is provided at the lower end of the small diameter section, and when the valve body is in an open state, the mouth of the container is pressed against the outer periphery of the outlet of the filling nozzle, and the sloped surface at the lower end of the valve rod protrudes downwardly beyond the outlet of the lower end of the filling nozzle and is positioned within the cylindrical section of the container, and the sloped surface has an upper end located at the outlet of the lower end of the filling nozzle, and is formed so that the distance between the sloped surface and the outer periphery of the outlet is approximately the flow path width of the annular liquid passage, Immediately after the valve body is opened, The swirling fins rotate the outer periphery of the reduced diameter portion and the small diameter portion. With weak centrifugal force The inclined surface guides the swirling flow of the filling liquid that flows down while swirling, so as to diffuse it radially from the outlet to the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion of the container.

[0008] The filling valve according to the second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the present invention, further comprising a valve member for abutting the outer periphery of the outlet against the mouth of a container. Ring-shaped The valve rod is a hollow tubular vent tube. The inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped sealing member is the outer peripheral edge of the outlet, and when the valve body is in an open state, the distance between the inclined surface of the lower end of the valve rod and the inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped sealing member is approximately equal to the flow path width of the annular liquid passage. It is characterized by the following. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, when filling a container having a cylindrical portion with a mouth formed at the upper end, an enlarged diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the enlarged diameter portion, a filling valve and a filling method can be provided that can easily prevent bubbling of the filling liquid regardless of the shape of the container. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing the configuration of the filling valve of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of the vicinity of the tip portion of the filling valve of FIG. 1, showing a filling state. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of the tip of the valve rod of FIG. 1 having a pivoting fin and an inclined surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a filling valve according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The filling valve 10 of this embodiment is a filling valve for filling a container V with a filling liquid F that easily foams, such as a carbonated drink, which includes a cylindrical portion V1 having a mouth portion Vm formed at the upper end, an expanded diameter portion V2 connected to the cylindrical portion V1, and a body portion V3 connected to the expanded diameter portion V2. An example of the container V is a container such as a PET bottle, in which the inner diameter of the mouth portion Vm and the cylindrical portion V1 relatively rapidly expands to the inner diameter of the body portion V3 by the expanded diameter portion V2. During filling, the container V is gripped and held by a gripper 11 below a flange Vf provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion V1.

[0014] The filling liquid F is stored in the storage tank 12. Carbon dioxide gas is pressurized and sealed in the head space inside the storage tank 12. Note that, when the filling liquid F is a carbonated drink, carbon dioxide gas is used, but when it is a non-carbonated drink or other liquid, air exists in the head space without any particular pressurization.

[0015] A filling liquid supply pipe 14 is connected to the bottom of the storage tank 12, and the filling liquid supply pipe 14 is connected to a filling liquid supply unit 18 of the filling valve 10 via a flow meter 16. The filling valve 10 is equipped with an outer shell member 20 having a vertically long hollow structure, and a valve rod 24 that passes vertically inside the outer shell member 20 and can move up and down. The outer shell member 20 is composed of a lower outer shell member 21 that functions as a filling nozzle, and an upper outer shell member 22 that drives the filling valve 10 to open and close, and the filling liquid supply unit 18 is formed on the upper side surface of the lower outer shell member 21.

[0016] Below the filling liquid supply part 18, a vertically long annular liquid passage 26 is formed between the valve rod 24 and the lower outer shell member 21 to surround the valve rod 24 and allow the filling liquid F to flow. The lower end of the valve rod 24 protrudes downward from the lower end of the lower outer shell member 21.

[0017] In this embodiment, the valve rod 24 is made of a tubular member having a hollow structure, and is configured as a vent tube that exhausts air from inside the container V during filling. The portion of the valve rod 24 housed in the lower outer shell member 21 includes a small diameter portion 24A constituting the lower end thereof, a large diameter portion 24C located above it, and a reduced diameter portion 24B connecting the large diameter portion 24C and the small diameter portion 24A. Inside the lower outer shell member 21, the outer shell small diameter portion 21A, the outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B, and the outer shell large diameter portion 21C are formed from the lower end side so that a gap constituting the liquid passage 26 is formed in accordance with the shape of the valve rod 24, and the lower end opening of the outer shell small diameter portion 21A serves as an outlet port 21D.

[0018] Valve rod 24 can move up and down inside outer shell member 20, with reduced diameter portion 24B functioning as a valve body and outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B functioning as a valve seat. That is, the inner diameter of outer shell small diameter portion 21A is smaller than the outer diameter of large diameter portion 24C, and when valve rod 24 is lowered, reduced diameter portion 24B abuts against outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B, and annular seal member 24D provided on the outer periphery extending from the lower part of large diameter portion 24C to reduced diameter portion 24B is pressed against outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B, so that liquid passage 26 is airtightly closed.

[0019] The valve rod 24 is raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism 22A provided in the upper shell member 22. The lifting mechanism 22A is composed of, for example, a cylinder 22B formed in the upper shell member 22 and a piston 24E provided in the valve rod 24 and fitted into the cylinder 22B. The valve rod 24 is driven by letting air in and out of upper and lower spaces in the cylinder 22B, which are airtightly separated from each other by the piston 24E. The air is let in and out of the spaces above and below the cylinder 22B by a switching valve 28 connected to an air pressure source 30.

[0020] In order to isolate the liquid passage 26 from the drive portion of the valve rod 24, the lower end of a cylindrical bellows 32 that covers the periphery of the valve rod 24 and expands and contracts up and down as the valve rod 24 rises and falls is airtightly attached to the outer periphery of the valve rod 24 inside the lower shell member 21, and the upper end of the bellows 32 is airtightly attached to the lower end of the upper shell member 22. In other words, the liquid passage 26 is isolated from the sliding portion between the upper shell member 22 and the valve rod 24 by the bellows 32.

[0021] The hollow portion 34 formed inside the valve rod 24 can be connected to the head space of the storage tank 12 via a counter valve 36 and can be opened to the outside air via a sniff valve 38. A flare portion 40 is provided at the lower end of the valve rod 24, which radially expands outward toward the bottom, forming an inclined surface 40a on the outer circumferential surface of the lower end of the small diameter portion 24A, and a plurality of fins (swirl fins) 42 formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 24C above the seal member 24D near the reduced diameter portion 24B. The outer circumferential dimension of the fins 42 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the outer shell large diameter portion 21C of the lower shell member 21, and a swirl flow path is formed by the outer circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 24C, the fins 42, and the inner circumferential surface of the outer shell large diameter portion 21C. A ring-shaped seal member 44 is provided on the outer periphery of outlet 21D at the lower end of lower shell member 21, and is pressed against mouth Vm of container V during filling to seal mouth Vm of container V.

[0022] Next, the operation of filling a carbonated beverage as filling liquid F by the filling valve 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of the vicinity of the tip of the filling valve 10, showing a state in which a container V is abutted against the filling valve 10 and the valve is open. Figure 3 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of the tip of the valve rod 24.

[0023] In Figure 1, the valve rod 24 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 22A and the filling valve 10 is shown in a closed state, and Figure 2 shows the state when the filling valve 10 fills the container V with filling liquid F, i.e., the mouth Vm of the container V is pressed against the sealing member 44 at the tip of the filling valve 10, the valve rod 24 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 22A, the reduced diameter portion 24B is separated from the outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B, and the valve is opened.

[0024] When the valve is open, the flare portion 40 at the tip of the valve rod 24 protrudes from the outlet 21D at the lower end of the lower shell member 21 and is located inside the cylindrical portion V1 of the container V. In this embodiment, the spread angle θ of the radial tangent at the peripheral edge of the flare portion 40 with respect to the axial downward direction of the thin diameter portion 24A is approximately 60°. The position of the upper end where the inclined surface 40a of the flare portion 40 begins to spread is set to be approximately at the same level as the position of the upper end of the mouth portion Vm of the container V when the valve rod 24 opens the valve body during filling.

[0025] Immediately before the start of the filling operation, the filling valve 10 is in the closed state shown in Fig. 1. That is, the valve rod 24 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 22A, and the liquid passage 26 is closed by the seal member 24D of the reduced diameter portion 24B being pressed against the outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B.

[0026] When the filling operation into the container V is started, the gripper 11 is raised, and the upper end of the mouth portion Vm of the container V held by the gripper 11 is pressed against the seal member 44 provided at the lower end of the lower shell member 21 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the inside of the container V is airtight against the surrounding atmosphere. Next, the counter valve 36 is opened with the sniff valve 38 closed, and the container V is communicated with the head space of the liquid storage tank 12 through the hollow portion 34 of the valve rod 24. When the pressure of the container V becomes equal to the head space of the liquid storage tank 12 by opening the counter valve 36, the switching valve 28 is switched, the valve rod 24 is raised by the lifting mechanism 22A, and the filling valve 10 is opened. That is, the seal member 24D of the reduced diameter portion 24B constituting the valve body is separated from the outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B constituting the valve seat, and the liquid passage 26 is opened.

[0027] When the filling valve 10 is opened, the filling liquid F in the storage tank 12 flows in from the filling liquid supply section 18 and starts to flow inside the liquid passage 26, and when the valve rod 24 is raised to its upper limit by the lifting mechanism 22A, the flare section 40 at the tip of the valve rod 24 reaches a position where the upper end of the inclined surface 40a roughly approaches the outlet 21D, as shown in Fig. 2. The filling liquid F flowing down the liquid passage 26 is given a tangential flow velocity component by the spiral flow path formed by the fins 42, and flows down while swirling inside the liquid passage 26 formed between the outer circumferential surface of the reduced diameter section 24B of the valve rod 24 and the inner circumferential surface of the outer shell reduced diameter section 21B of the lower outer shell member 21.

[0028] When the filling liquid F reaches the outlet 21D at the lower end of the filling valve 10, the centrifugal force of the swirling flow as well as the expansion of the inclined surface 40a of the flared portion 40 causes the filling liquid F to diffuse radially outward from the center of the valve rod 24 while maintaining a tangential velocity component, and is discharged onto the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion V1 of the container V. During the start of filling, when the centrifugal force of the swirling flow generated by the fins 42 is weak, the filling liquid F is guided to the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion V1 by the swirling action of the filling liquid F and the action of the inclined surface 40a of the flared portion 40 at the tip of the valve rod 24, and thereafter, when the swirling flow is sufficiently developed, the filling liquid F is guided by the centrifugal force generated by the swirling action.

[0029] The amount of filling liquid F supplied to the filling valve 10 is monitored by a flow meter 16, and when the amount of filling liquid F supplied to the container V reaches a predetermined amount, the switching valve 28 is switched to drive the lifting mechanism 22A, the valve rod 24 is lowered, the seal member 24D of the reduced diameter portion 24B is brought into contact with the outer shell reduced diameter portion 21B, and the filling valve 10 is closed. Thereafter, the counter valve 36 is closed and the sniff valve 38 is opened, the pressure inside the container V is set to atmospheric pressure, the container V is lowered by the gripper 11, and the mouth portion Vm of the container V is opened from the filling valve 10.

[0030] The above explanation is about the operation of the filling valve when filling a carbonated beverage, but when filling a filling liquid other than a carbonated beverage, the above filling operation is performed with the counter valve always open and the sniff valve always closed.

[0031] As described above, according to this embodiment, even when filling a container having a cylindrical portion with a mouth formed at the upper end, an enlarged diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the enlarged diameter portion, by simply positioning the flared portion inside the cylindrical portion, the filling liquid is securely guided to the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the container by the presence of the flared portion, even at the start of the filling operation when the swirling flow is weak, preventing the filling liquid from falling and causing foaming.

[0032] In addition, in containers such as PET bottles, the dimensions of the cylindrical part do not change significantly even if the dimensions and shape of the entire bottle change, and by determining the protrusion amount of the valve rod and the spread angle of the flare part from the general inner diameter of the mouth, the length (height) of the cylindrical part, and the outer diameter dimension of the valve rod, it is possible to prevent foaming by sharing the flare part in multiple types of PET bottles. That is, when the filling liquid is made to swirl along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical part, the filling liquid swirls while expanding along the expanded diameter part due to the action of centrifugal force, and flows down along the inner surface of the container. And, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the spreader with respect to the container or replace the valve rod as in the conventional case, and foaming of the filling liquid can be prevented with an extremely simple configuration.

[0033] If the valve rod does not protrude much from the lower end of the lower shell member, and / or the flared portion has a large spread angle and the inclination of the inclined surface is gentle, the flow path narrows and the filling efficiency decreases. Also, if the protrusion is large and the inclined surface is far from the outlet, and / or the flared portion has a small spread angle and the inclined surface is steep, the action of pressing the filling liquid against the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical part of the container becomes small. Therefore, the outlet is formed with an inclined surface of about 60°, and the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the outlet (the inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped seal member) and the inclined surface is neither too close nor too far, and is arranged so that the cross section is close to the flow path width of the annular liquid passage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10 Filling valve 12 Liquid storage tank 16 Flow meter 20 Shell material 21 Lower shell member 21A Thin outer shell 21B Outer shell narrowing part (valve seat) 21C Large diameter outer shell 21D Outlet 22 Upper shell member 22A Lifting mechanism (driving means) 22B Cylinder 24 Valve rod 24A narrow diameter part 24B Reduced diameter section (valve body) 24C Large diameter section 24D Sealing material 24E Piston 26 Liquid passage 32 Bellows 34 Hollow part 36 Counter valve 38 Snift valve 40 Flare section 40a Slope 42 Fin (rotating fin) 44 Sealing material (sealing material) F Filling liquid V container Vm mouth V1 Cylindrical part V2 enlarged diameter part V3 Torso

Claims

1. A filling valve for filling a container with a filling liquid, the container comprising a cylindrical portion having a mouth at an upper end, an expanded diameter portion connected to the cylindrical portion, and a body portion connected to the expanded diameter portion, a filling nozzle having a valve seat formed therein and a filling liquid outlet at a lower end; a valve rod that runs vertically through the inside of the filling nozzle and has a small diameter portion, a large diameter portion above it, and a reduced diameter portion that connects the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion, and a valve body that seats on the valve seat is formed on the outer periphery of the reduced diameter portion to form an annular liquid passage between the inner periphery of the filling nozzle and the valve rod; a drive means for moving the valve rod up and down to open and close the valve body, Inside the filling nozzle, a small diameter portion, a reduced diameter portion functioning as the valve seat, and a large diameter portion are formed from a lower end in accordance with the shape of the valve rod, and a filling liquid supply portion to which a filling liquid supply pipe is connected is formed on an upper side surface of the filling nozzle above the large diameter portion, Furthermore, the valve rod is provided with a swirling fin on the outer periphery of the large diameter portion for applying a swirling force to the filling liquid flowing through the liquid passage, and a sloped surface that widens downward is provided at a lower end of the small diameter portion, When the valve body is in an open state, the mouth of the container is pressed against the outer periphery of the outlet of the filling nozzle, the inclined surface of the lower end of the valve rod protrudes downwardly beyond the outlet of the lower end of the filling nozzle and is positioned within the cylindrical portion of the container, the inclined surface has an upper end positioned at the outlet of the lower end of the filling nozzle, and the distance between the inclined surface and the outer periphery of the outlet is formed so as to approximate the flow path width of an annular liquid passage, A filling valve characterized in that immediately after the valve body is opened, the swirling flow of filling liquid that is swirled by the swirling fins and flows down the outer periphery of the contracted diameter section and the narrow diameter section while swirling due to weak centrifugal force is guided radially from the outlet to the inner surface of the cylindrical section of the container by the inclined surface.

2. 2. The filling valve according to claim 1, further comprising a ring-shaped sealing member on an outer periphery of the outlet that abuts against the mouth of the container, the valve rod being a hollow tubular vent tube, the inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped sealing member being the outer peripheral edge of the outlet, and when the valve body is in an open state, the distance between the inclined surface at the lower end of the valve rod and the inner peripheral edge of the ring-shaped sealing member being approximate to the flow path width of the annular liquid passage.

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