Fill Pipe Nozzle Mesh Bulge for High-Speed Liquid Food Filtration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fill systems face challenges in maintaining high filling speeds while effectively filtering liquid food products, particularly those containing both fat and protein, as introducing filters can disrupt flow and affect product quality.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle with a flexible mouthpiece and mesh filter featuring a bulge protruding into the interior space, allowing for high-speed filling and efficient filtration through a large open area mesh filter, which includes through holes with varying diameters to facilitate fluid flow and reduce residue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mesh filter is introduced to filter liquid food product, then product quality and safety are improved, but filling speed decreases due to flow restriction
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh filter is configured with a bulge protruding into the interior space of the flexible mouthpiece, transitioning from a flat two-dimensional filter to a three-dimensional structure. This dimensional change increases the total filtering area while maintaining a compact form factor that does not restrict overall flow, thereby improving product quality without significantly reducing filling speed
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the mesh filter by creating a bulge with varying curvature and positioning it strategically within the flexible mouthpiece. This parameter optimization allows the filter to provide adequate filtration while maintaining sufficient flow cross-section, resolving the contradiction between filtering effectiveness and flow rate
2Reliability
If a mesh filter is introduced to remove impurities and particles, then product integrity is improved, but flow rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By configuring the mesh filter with a bulge protruding into the interior space, the invention creates a three-dimensional filtering structure that increases the total filtering surface area. This allows more particles to be captured while maintaining adequate flow cross-section, thus improving product integrity without significantly reducing flow rate
Solution Approach 2:
The mesh filter with bulge can be viewed as segmenting the flow path into multiple channels around the protruding structure. This segmentation distributes the flow across multiple paths, reducing the velocity through any single point while maintaining overall flow rate, thereby preserving both product integrity and flow characteristics
3Productivity
If filling speed is increased to improve productivity, then manufacturing efficiency is improved, but filtering effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bulge configuration of the mesh filter increases the filtering area by utilizing the third dimension within the flexible mouthpiece interior. This allows high-speed filling to be maintained while providing sufficient filtration surface area to ensure filtering effectiveness, as the increased surface area compensates for the reduced residence time at high flow rates
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
Enables high-speed filling of liquid food products without compromising product quality by ensuring foreign objects are filtered out, maintaining flow speed, and minimizing residue drop-off.
Implementation Method 1
The mesh filter is configured to filter liquid food product flowing through the flexible mouthpiece
Implementation Method 2
The plurality of flaps are disposed to be moved from the closed state to an open state by liquid food product flowing through the flexible mouthpiece
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a nozzle (200) for a fill pipe used in fill system of a packaging machines in which containers are filled with liquid food product. The nozzle comprising: a flexible mouthpiece (210) comprising a flexible collar (212) for connecting the flexible mouthpiece to an outlet end of the fill pipe and a plurality of flaps (214) made from a flexible material and extending from the flexible collar, the plurality of flaps being biased to a closed state, the flexible mouthpiece sealing the outlet end of the fill pipe when in the closed state, the plurality of flaps being disposed to be moved from the closed state to an open state by liquid food product flowing through the flexible mouthpiece; and a mesh filter (220) configured to filter liquid food product flowing through the flexible mouthpiece. The mesh filter comprising a bulge (224) protruding into an interior space of the flexible mouthpiece, wherein the bulge comprises a plurality of through holes constituting the mesh filter. Also a fill system comprising the nozzle is presented.