Beverage Filling Valve Bubble Removal Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
When filling containers with carbonated beverages, existing methods generate bubbles during the pressure drain process, leading to an insufficient filling amount, which cannot be distributed and is often discarded.
Innovation Solution
A beverage filling method that includes a cleaning process, pressure drain process, bubble removing process, and beverage filling process, where bubbles generated during the pressure drain are removed by obstructing the filling valve tip, pressurizing the inside, and opening the discharge port and throttle to allow bubbles to escape, ensuring a regular filling amount.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the pressure drain process is performed to fill the filling valve with beverage, then the beverage filling process can proceed, but bubbles are generated at the throttle portion causing insufficient filling amount
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing a bubble removing process that occurs before the beverage filling process. Bubbles are removed from the filling valve during a dedicated removal phase (through heating, pressure reduction, or inert gas purging) before the actual filling occurs, preventing them from contaminating the final product and ensuring accurate filling amounts.
2Ease of operation
If the throttle portion is used to control beverage flow, then flow control is achieved, but bubbles are generated due to pressure changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of bubble generation into a beneficial process by deliberately creating controlled bubbles during the pressure drain phase, then using those same bubbles as indicators to trigger the bubble removal process. The bubbles that would normally cause filling defects are instead utilized to activate the corrective mechanism that removes them before filling.
3Reliability
If the filling valve is cleaned thoroughly, then hygiene is improved, but the valve structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the filling valve to clean itself through the bubble removing process. The same valve that generates bubbles during operation uses those bubbles (or the pressure/temperature changes that create them) to automatically purge contaminants and maintain hygiene without requiring separate manual cleaning operations or complex disassembly mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively removes bubbles generated during the pressure drain process, allowing containers to be filled with a consistent and regular amount of beverage, preventing waste and ensuring market-ready filling quantities.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure drain process of pressurizing and discharging air on the inside of the filling valve to the outside
Implementation Method 2
filling the inside of the filling valve with the beverage
Implementation Method 3
bubbles are generated at the throttle portion during the pressure drain process
Implementation Method 4
a tip end of the filling valve is obstructed, the inside of the filling valve is pressurized, and after the discharge port and the throttle are allowed to be in an opened state
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a beverage filling method whereby a container can be filled with a normal filling amount of beverage even when bubbles are formed during a pressurization-draining process. A beverage (31) filling method is a method for filling a container (3) with a carbonated beverage (31) by means of a filling valve (100), which is equipped with a discharge port (102b) through which the beverage is discharged and a throttle (110) that is formed upstream of the discharge port (102b), and is characterized by involving: a cleaning process whereby the inside of the filling valve (100) is cleaned; a pressurization-draining process whereby air inside the filling valve (100) is discharged to the outside by means of pressurization, the inside of the filling valve (100) is completely filled with the beverage (31), and the discharge port (102b) and the throttle (110) are brought to a closed state; a bubble removing process whereby bubbles formed inside the filling valve (100) during the pressurization-draining process are removed after the pressurization-draining process; and a beverage filling process whereby the container (3) is filled with the beverage (31) after the bubble removing process.