Isobaric Rotary Filling Machine Lateral Flushing Station
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Isobaric rotary filling machines face challenges with complex and costly flushing operations, leading to contamination and inefficiencies due to the need for manual handling of auxiliary containers and free discharge of flushing fluids, which results in significant fluid loss and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
An isobaric rotary filling machine with a lateral flushing station and receiving tray that allows for automatic and cost-effective flushing of all parts, eliminating the need for auxiliary containers and enabling recycling of flushing fluids, with a design that includes a flushing circuit connected to the tank and operating circuits for efficient cleaning and product changeover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If auxiliary containers are used for flushing valve units, then flushing can be performed in a closed cycle, but the system requires long manual operations to mount auxiliary containers and cannot perform automatic programming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the auxiliary containers (dummy bottles) from the flushing system. Instead of using separate containers mounted under each valve unit, the system uses the machine's existing product tank and circulation system to perform flushing, thereby removing the need for manual mounting and extraction of auxiliary containers while maintaining closed-cycle flushing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The product tank and circulation system are designed to perform multiple functions: both normal product storage and supply, and flushing operations. The same pump, pipes, and tank that handle product bottling are utilized for flushing by switching valve configurations, eliminating the need for separate auxiliary containers and reducing system complexity
2Extent of automation
If automatic insertion of auxiliary containers is implemented, then CIP washing cycle can be performed automatically, but the installation costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes auxiliary containers and their associated automatic insertion mechanisms from the system. Automation is achieved instead through programmable control of existing components (valves, pump, rotating table positioning), significantly reducing hardware complexity and installation costs while maintaining automatic operation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own existing infrastructure (product tank, circulation pump, valve units, rotating table) to perform flushing operations without requiring external auxiliary containers. The machine serves itself by circulating flushing fluid through its own components, eliminating the need for separate automated container handling systems
3Productivity
If flushing fluid is discharged freely onto bottle support discs, then the flushing operation can be completed, but significant fluid loss and machine contamination occur
Solution Approach 1:
The flushing fluid is continuously circulated in a closed loop from the product tank, through the valve units and pipes, and back to the tank via the pump. The collecting tray captures any discharged fluid and directs it back into the circulation system, ensuring continuous reuse of the flushing fluid without free discharge or loss
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding flushing fluid onto the machine surfaces, the system recovers all flushing fluid through the collecting tray positioned under the rotating table. The tray channels the fluid back into the circulation system, ensuring complete recovery and reuse, thereby eliminating fluid loss and contamination
4Reliability
If manual opening of faucets is performed to discharge liquid for product changeover, then the operation can be controlled, but considerable time and operator expense are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical operation of opening faucets is replaced with automated pneumatic or electrovalves controlled by a programmable logic system. The system automatically opens and closes the appropriate valve units during product changeover, eliminating the need for manual operator intervention and significantly reducing changeover time while maintaining precise control
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs product changeover automatically without requiring manual operation. The programmable control system manages the sequence of valve operations, pump control, and rotating table positioning to complete the changeover process autonomously, reducing both time loss and operator involvement
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 machine enables reliable, automatic, and efficient flushing operations, reducing fluid loss and contamination, allowing rapid product changes and initiating filling without sudden start-ups, while maintaining hygienic conditions and extending machine lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
a pump (17) for circulating the liquid to be bottled
Implementation Method 2
Each valve unit (3) has an obturator (5) which regulates the flow of the liquid into the container
Implementation Method 3
The valve unit also has an air return pipe which is mounted inside the duct and balances the pressure inside the container also during descent of the liquid
Data Source
AI summary
Isobaric rotary filling machine for filling containers, having a rotating table (2) which supports a tank (6) under pressure, and a plurality of valve units (3). Each valve unit (3) has a filling duct (4) for supplying the liquid from the tank (6) to the containers, regulated by a faucet (5), and an air return pipe (8) associated with a shut-off valve (60) for controlling the pressure balance between the container and the tank (6). A flushing station (14) is envisaged, being operationally associated with the rotating table (2), but fixed with respect thereto and having a receiving tray (15) connected to a flushing circuit (C) and able to be operated by movement means (16) so as to move between a non-operative position (A), where it is situated outside the travel path of the valve units (3), and an operative position (B), where it is situated underneath one or more valve units (3) which pass above it. The faucets (5) and the shut-off valves (60) perform the opening of each obturator (5) and each pipe (8) when the receiving tray (15) is in the operative position (B) and the flushing circuit (C) is connected to the supply line (31) of the tank (6), causing the liquid to fall from the valve units (3) into the receiving tray (15) and circulation of the flushing fluid inside the flushing circuit.