Filling Flow Divider with Divert Valves for Contamination Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In food product filling processes, the lack of available containers can lead to contamination and unnecessary production stoppages, as existing systems either require complex and costly separate dosing devices or cannot prevent unintentional ejection of mass from partial lines without halting the production line.
Innovation Solution
A filling flow divider with commonly driven dosing devices and valve devices in each partial line allows for individual diversion of partial mass flows, preventing ejection when no object is available at the filling position, enabling continuous production and reusing diverted mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate individually controllable dosing devices are used for each partial line, then mass can be diverted individually without stopping production, but device complexity and costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the mass flow control into two levels: a common drive mechanism that controls all dosing devices together, and individual valve devices in each partial line that can independently divert or block mass flow. This segmentation allows individual control of dosing without requiring separate drive mechanisms for each line.
Solution Approach 2:
Valve devices are introduced as intermediary elements between the common dosing mechanism and the partial lines. These valves act as mediators that can selectively block or allow mass flow in specific partial lines without affecting the common drive mechanism or other partial lines.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If production is stopped when a container is unavailable, then contamination is prevented, but productivity decreases due to stoppages and waste of filled containers
Solution Approach 1:
The valve devices provide preliminary anti-action by proactively blocking the mass flow path in partial lines where no container is available. This prevents the harmful effect of contamination before it can occur, allowing the production line to continue operating without stoppages.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables discarding of mass in affected partial lines (by diverting it away from empty containers) while recovering continued production in unaffected partial lines. This selective discarding approach minimizes overall waste while maintaining productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If mass is diverted in one partial line, then individual control is achieved, but maintaining balanced volume flow across all partial lines becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing devices in all partial lines are merged into a single common drive mechanism, ensuring that they rotate together and maintain synchronized operation. This merging approach preserves volume flow balance across partial lines that are actively dosing, while individual valves handle the diversion control.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a filling flow divider for food products and to a method for discharging food products and a filling machine, wherein the filling flow divider has an inlet via which an inflowing mass flow can be divided into a plurality of partial mass flows, transported further in a plurality of partial lines and discharged portion-wise onto or into an object via their outlet, and a plurality of commonly driven dosing devices for adjusting the volume flow of the respective partial mass flows. In this context, a valve device is arranged in each of the respective partial lines, which can divert the partial mass flow such that no mass is discharged via the outlet of the respective partial line.