Movable Filling Element Dosing for Low-Foam Aseptic Filling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dosing devices for liquid and pasty products suffer from issues such as high drop height leading to foaming, product drying on filling elements, complex design, and difficulty in maintaining aseptic conditions during filling processes.
Innovation Solution
A dosing device with a movably mounted filling element and a housing that allows for precise dosing, reduces foaming, and simplifies cleaning, featuring an angular orientation of the outlet channel and minimal moving components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a static filling element is used, then the structural design is simple, but the drop height is high causing heavy foaming
Solution Approach 1:
The filling element is made movable instead of static, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. The filling element can move vertically to maintain a constant, low drop height during the filling process, thereby reducing foaming while keeping the overall structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The drop height parameter is changed from a fixed high value to a dynamically adjustable low value. By moving the filling element closer to the container, the effective drop height is reduced, which directly addresses the foaming issue without requiring complex structural modifications.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the filling element is moved into the container, then the drop height is reduced minimizing foaming, but the structural design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The filling element incorporates a movable mechanism that allows it to extend into the container during filling and retract afterward. This dynamic positioning capability enables low drop height operation without permanently complex structural arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The filling device is segmented into movable and stationary parts. The filling element itself is the movable component that can be independently positioned, while the housing and support structures remain relatively simple and stationary, separating the complexity of movement from the overall structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If the filling element remains outside the housing, then cleaning is simpler, but product drying on the filling element occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The filling element moves into the housing during the filling process, where it remains surrounded by liquid product. This dynamic positioning prevents product drying on the filling element surface, as the element is continuously wetted by the product it is dispensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing acts as an intermediary environment that protects the filling element from drying. By moving the filling element into the housing, the liquid product itself serves as a protective medium that prevents evaporation and drying of the filling element surface.
4Productivity
If containers are moved toward the filling element, then filling efficiency is improved, but aseptic conditions are violated
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving containers toward the filling element, the filling element is moved into the container. This inverted approach allows the filling element to enter the container's interior space, enabling efficient filling while maintaining aseptic barriers, as the filling element can be sterilized and moved through controlled interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The filling element serves as an intermediary that can be sterilized and moved through controlled interfaces. By making the filling element itself movable and sterilizable, it acts as a safe mediator that can enter container interiors without compromising aseptic conditions, while still enabling high filling efficiency.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a
AI summary
The invention is based on a dosing device for dosing liquid and/or pasty products, in particular foodstuffs, having at least one dosing unit (12) which has at least one movably mounted filling element (14), in particular a filling tube, which has at least one dispensing opening (18) for filling at least one container (16) with a liquid and/or pasty product, and which comprises at least one housing (20), in particular a valve housing, which delimits a receiving space (22) for the liquid and/or pasty product. It is proposed that the filling element (14) be movably mounted in the housing (20).