Hot Filling Valve With Rotational Deflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hot filling processes face challenges such as pre-heating requirements, foam formation, limited recirculation control, and compatibility issues with beverages containing pulps, leading to inefficiencies and organoleptic deterioration in existing bottle filling systems.
Innovation Solution
A bottle filling valve with a siphon mechanism and deflection system that maintains liquid adherence to bottle walls, reduces foam formation, and allows for efficient recirculation and pasteurization, featuring a pneumatic actuator for precise control and easy maintenance, while accommodating products with pulps and cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If internal recirculation beaks are used to evacuate foam during filling, then foam removal is achieved, but the active passage section is reduced requiring higher piezo load which causes undesired strains on the plastic bottle
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the deflection element from the bottle interior and relocates it to the valve body, eliminating the need for internal recirculation beaks that reduce passage section and increase piezo load. The evacuation function is achieved through an external deflection system that guides liquid flow without penetrating into the bottle.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a deflection element as an intermediary component housed within the valve body that mediates the liquid flow direction. This element creates the necessary flow deflection to evacuate foam without requiring internal beaks that would reduce the active passage section and increase stress on the bottle.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If filling systems use traditional recirculation methods, then foam evacuation is achieved, but the system complexity increases and organoleptic features deteriorate due to extended recirculation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the foam evacuation function with the filling operation itself by using a deflection element that creates liquid flow patterns during filling to naturally evacuate foam. This eliminates the need for separate complex recirculation systems while achieving the same foam removal objective.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention allows the filling process to rapidly proceed through the foam evacuation phase by using a deflection element that creates efficient liquid flow patterns, minimizing the time required for foam removal and reducing the need for extended recirculation that would deteriorate organoleptic features.
3Temperature
If deflection systems are designed to reach high levels in the bottle, then thermal treatment of head space is improved, but the passage section for filling and foam evacuation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the deflection function from the bottle interior and places it in the valve body, allowing the deflection element to create sufficient liquid flow deflection to achieve thermal treatment of the head space without penetrating deep into the bottle and reducing the passage section.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the spatial arrangement by implementing the deflection element in a different dimension (in the valve body rather than inside the bottle), allowing adequate passage section to be maintained while still achieving the necessary liquid flow patterns for thermal treatment effectiveness.
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 system achieves higher filling levels, reduces recirculated product, lowers piezo load, and improves product quality, enabling efficient processing of beverages with pulps and cells while maintaining hygienic and cost-effective operations.
Implementation Method 1
a first shutter (4) of said hole, sliding within the valve body, wherein said first shutter is provided with a sealing element at a first end thereof, which is suited to fluid-tightly close the hole and configured so as to define, in cooperation with a bottom of the valve body, a siphon between said space and said hole
Implementation Method 2
a liquid deflection element (6) accommodated in said hole, configured so as to confer a rotational component to the liquid which crosses it, which permits the liquid itself to adhere to the walls of the container during the step of filling
Implementation Method 3
featuring a pneumatic actuator for precise control
Implementation Method 4
the step of in-valve recirculation should be activated both to avoid the system from cooling down, in particular the product close to the closed valves waiting for being bottled
Data Source
AI summary
A filling valve (1) for hot filling plastic bottles, which allows to meet all the requirements determined by the typical particularities of hot filling applications in the most effective manner possible, while allowing to maintain the same basic configuration also for cold processing plain liquids without needing recirculation, e.g. plain water. The filing valve (1) comprises:—a valve body (2) defining therein a space for the passage of a filing liquid and provided with a hole for introducing said liquid in one of said containers,—a first shutter (4) of said hole, sliding within the valve body (2), a siphon (5) between said space and said hole, and a liquid deflection element (6) accommodated in said hole, configured so as to confer a rotational component to the liquid which crosses it, which permits the liquid itself to adhere to the walls of the container during the step of filing, said deflection element (6) being integrally fixed to and directly in contact with said first end of the first shutter (4).