CN1447774A - Cone-shaped jet filling tube and filling machine equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a filling tube for dispensing a liquid into a container, wherein the tube (10) comprises an orifice (36, 40) for dispensing the liquid which conditions a cone-shaped jet, and wherein the tube comprises an axial cannula provided with a gas discharge conduit (24) emerging inside the space defined by the cone-shaped jet. The invention is characterised in that the cannula comprises a gas intake pipe (28) which emerges inside the space defined by the cone-shaped jet and which sprays a gas stream which flows substantially parallel to the liquid cone-shaped jet, on the inner side thereof.

Description

Filling nozzle for umbrella jet and filling machine equipped with it

technical field

The invention relates to the field of filling nozzles, in particular to filling nozzles for bottle filling machines.

Background technique

It is already known to manufacture filling nozzles which effect a conical or "umbrella" spray of product. For the filling of bottles, in particular, the product can be ejected very quickly from the nozzle outlet onto the inside wall of the bottle. The product enters the bottle and flows along the inner wall of the bottle instead of being sprayed directly to the bottom of the bottle. In this way, when the bottle is filled, the product can produce less foam, thereby increasing the filling flow rate and reducing the time required to fill a bottle.

In such nozzles, it is known to provide an axial cannula which initially allows the air contained in the bottle to be expelled without disturbing the conical jet.

Documents US-A-4156444 and US-A-5125441 present two nozzle embodiments. Even if the bottled product is a carbonated liquid, such as soda and beer, or a liquid that froths, such as milk or fruit juice, these nozzles can significantly reduce the filling time of a bottle.

Another problem encountered during bottle filling is the contact of the product with the surrounding air. In fact, many products such as beer and fruit juices can be oxidatively degraded. During filling with traditionally designed nozzles, the product is exposed to the air and oxygen can enter the product, affecting its shelf life.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to propose a newly designed filling nozzle, which ensures the inherent characteristics of the above-mentioned nozzle, and can well limit or even avoid the bottled product from being in contact with the air.

To this end, the invention proposes a filling nozzle for dispensing a liquid into a container, wherein the nozzle comprises a liquid dispensing orifice defining an umbrella-shaped jet, the nozzle also comprises an axial cannula, the cannula Equipped with an exhaust pipe leading into the space defined by the umbrella jet, characterized in that the cannula includes a gas introduction channel, the gas introduction channel leads into the space defined by the umbrella jet, and sprays A stream of gas flowing out of the umbrella jet of liquid and flowing substantially parallel to the umbrella jet of liquid.

Other features of the present invention are:

The gas introduction channel leads into the space defined by the umbrella-shaped jet in the shape of an annular opening;

The gas introduction channel has a substantially conical deflection surface at its outlet end;

The exhaust pipe axially leads to the center of the annular opening of the gas introduction channel, and the gas introduction channel axially leads to the center of the substantially annular product distribution hole;

The gas introduction channel is supplied with a gas neutral to the product to be dispensed;

The product jet has an axial rotational component;

The nozzle comprises an annular swirling chamber into which the product is injected with a tangential velocity component, the swirling chamber is axially extended by an annular channel, the outlet end of which forms the product dispensing orifice;

The swirling chamber is connected to the annular channel through a funnel-shaped surface;

An axial cannula extends axially through the spin chamber.

The invention also relates to a container filling machine, which is characterized in that it comprises at least one filling station equipped with a filling nozzle having one of the aforementioned features.

Description of drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood with reference to the attached drawings and the non-limiting examples.

The accompanying drawings are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a schematic axial sectional view of a filling nozzle of the present invention, showing the working situation of the nozzle in the filling process of a bottle;

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view on a reduced scale along line 2-2 in Fig. 1 .

Detailed ways

The filling nozzle 10 shown in the accompanying drawing is used in particular for the filling of narrow-necked bottles 12, and can also be used for the filling of glass bottles and plastic bottles, such as plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). filling. Obviously, this type of nozzle is best used in the manufacture of multi-nozzle filling machines, such as rotary disc filling machines.

Words used to describe positions in the drawings, such as "higher," "lower," "upper," "lower," etc., relate to the embodiments shown and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

The nozzle 10 shown in the figures basically comprises a hollow body 14 substantially rotating about an axis A1 through which two coaxial tubes, an inner tube 16 and an outer tube 18 axially penetrate.

Thus, the body 14 defines an inner volume axially penetrated by the inner tube 16 and the outer tube 18 . The body 14 shown here as a single piece may also be made in multiple pieces for ease of manufacture. The body is covered by an upper cover 20 which closes the upward facing inner volume in a sealed manner and supports the inner tube 16 and the outer tube 18 .

The cover 20 includes a stepped inner bore extending axially therethrough. The upper tier 22 of apertures opens upwards into the exterior of the body and is cylindrical about the axis A1 with a diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the inner tube 16 .

The lower layer 26 opens downwards into the inner volume and is cylindrical about the axis A1 with a diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the outer tube 18 .

The intermediate layer 24 extends between the upper layer 22 and the lower layer 26 and is cylindrical about the axis A1 with a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the outer tube 18 .

The upper end of the outer tube 18 axially enters the lower layer 26 of the cover bore from the bottom up until it bears against the annular stop surface defined by the lower layer 26 and the intermediate layer 24 . The outer tube 18 is locked and installed with an annular sealing ring, which ensures that the outer tube 18 is fixed on the cover 20 on the one hand, and ensures the sealing of the above-mentioned installation on the other hand.

The inner tube 16 enters axially into the center of the outer tube 18 so as to completely penetrate the cover 20 . The inner tube 16 is held locked by the upper layer 22 of the cover aperture, thereby securing the inner tube 16 .

As shown, the inner diameter of the outer tube 18 is greater than the outer diameter of the inner tube 16 so that there is an annular gap forming a passage 28 between the two tubes 16,18 when they are coaxially mounted on the cover. As shown in FIG. 1 , the upper end of said channel 28 formed by the middle layer 24 of the aperture of the cover 20 is closed due to the hermetic mounting of the inner tube 16 on the upper layer 22 of the aperture.

An inlet 30 extends radially through the cover to enter the apertured intermediate layer 24, thereby allowing passage 28 to communicate with a fluid source.

The inner volume defined by the main body 14 mainly includes three parts: an upper swirling chamber 32 , an accelerating cone 34 and an annular distribution pipe 36 . The swirl chamber 32 is here arranged in a ring around the outer tube 18 . An inlet 38 makes it possible to feed the product to be bottled into the swirl chamber 32 in a direction which is not entirely radial but has a tangential component. Since the product is fed into the swirl chamber at a certain pressure, the product forms a helical circulation in the swirl chamber, also if this pressure comes only from the flow of the product under the action of gravity. Optionally, the inlet 38 can also be slightly inclined in the vertical direction.

The product to be bottled flows towards the container 12 through an annular dispensing tube 36 formed around the lower part of the outer tube 18 . In the embodiment shown, this part of the nozzle 10 is determined to enter into the neck of the container to be filled, so that the diameter of the annular dispensing tube 36 is smaller than the diameter of the rest of the body 14 . The annular distribution duct 36 is defined by a cylindrical tubular wall member. In order to connect the swirling chamber 32 to the annular distribution pipe 36, a connecting surface 34 is arranged, which is chosen to be frusto-conical for the sake of simplicity.

Obviously, the internal shape of the body 14 of the nozzle 10 can be optimized, as described in document US-A-5125441, so that no further description of the invention is required.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the lower end of the outer tube 18 is lowered below the lower end of the annular distribution tube 36 to define an annular product outlet 40 . In addition, the lower end of the outer tube 18 expands radially outwardly so that the outer surface of the outer tube forms a deflector 44 tending to spray the product radially outward so that the product contacts the inner wall of the container to form an umbrella spray.

The size and location of the ends of the outer tube 18 and the annular distribution tube 36 are chosen to provide a relatively reduced passage cross-section for the outlet 40 so that the liquid contained in the nozzle can be retained when the product supply is interrupted. The maximum acceptable passage section is determined inter alia by the internal surface tension of the product.

The lower end of the inner tube 16 extends axially below the lower end of the outer tube 18 , the outer surface of the end of the inner tube 16 expanding radially outwards in order to form a deflection surface 46 . Accordingly, the lower end of the channel 28 is annular and expands radially outward.

In operation, the inlet 38 of the spin chamber 32 is connected to a storage container for the product to be bottled, with a control valve arranged therebetween. The opening and closing of the valve can be controlled according to different parameters. Temporary control is possible to determine a fixed time for all containers to be filled. The control may be a balance control, whereby product dispensing is interrupted when the container reaches a predetermined weight. The control may also be a flow control, and the volume of the product flowing into the container is determined according to the flow rate discharged from the nozzle. In the case of volumetric filling machines, the quantity of product to be dispensed is metered into an intermediate chamber between the storage container and the filling nozzle.

The inlet 30 of the gas introduction channel 28 is preferably in communication with a gas source of a gas neutral to the product. This neutral gas can be, for example, carbon dioxide or nitrogen.

Finally, a central duct 42 defined within the inner tube 16 communicates with a gas exhaust or directly with free air.

In operation, the product flow injected into the nozzle body rotates in the swirl chamber 32, which cooperates with the shape of the annular outlet 40 and the shape of the deflection surface 44 to ensure that the product dispensed through the nozzle is an umbrella-shaped jet. Since the lower part of the nozzle enters the container or is in close proximity to the container, the product contacts the inner wall of the container and flows along the container wall to fill the container. In this way, a product flow with little foam is obtained, even at high flow rates.

According to the invention, through the introduction channel 28 of the neutral gas, the gas flow flowing through the lower end of the channel 28 is caused to flow below the umbrella-shaped product flow. Due to the widened shape of the deflection surface 46, the air flow runs essentially parallel to the flow of product in the bottle.

According to the invention, the product flow is substantially confined between the container wall (outside) and the neutral air flow (inside). In this way, the contact between the product and the surrounding air is very limited or even non-existent.

Obviously, the vent pipe 42 allows gas to be discharged from the container as the height of the product in the container increases. The gas is preferably discharged from the center of the container upwards along axis A1. The exhausted gas can be a part of the gas that was in the container before filling, or a part of the neutral gas introduced by the channel 36 .

In order to limit the possibility of the product coming into contact with the surrounding air, the filling operation can be started from a preparatory stage where the container is purged with a neutral gas. The purging efficiency with the nozzle according to the invention is especially increased due to the specific flow characteristics of the nozzle. In fact, the gas flow injected through the gas introduction channel 28 flows downward along the container wall, and then flows upward along the axis A1 in the direction of the exhaust pipe 42 . This flow effectively evacuates air previously contained in the container in a very short time. This not only eliminates the need to increase the time required to fill the container, but also reduces the contact between the product and the air.

With the help of the nozzle according to the invention, it is also possible to prolong the injection time of the neutral gas beyond the time required for filling the product, in order to perfect the flushing of the headspace of the container with the neutral gas, so as to avoid air remaining in the bottle and The bottle comes into contact with the product when it is filled.

Claims (10)

1. filling nozzle, be used for a kind of liquid is assigned in the container, wherein, nozzle (10) has a liquid distribution aperture (36 that limits the umbrella shape jet flow, 40), nozzle (10) also has an axial intubate, intubate is furnished with the freeing pipe (42) in the space that a feeding limits by the umbrella shape jet flow, it is characterized in that, intubate has a gas and introduces passage (28), gas is introduced passage (28) and is passed in the space that is limited by the umbrella shape jet flow, and ejects in the inboard of liquid umbrella shape jet flow and be basically parallel to liquid umbrella shape jet flow and airflow flowing.

2. filling nozzle according to claim 1 is characterized in that, gas is introduced passage (28) and is passed in the space that ringent ringwise umbrella shape jet flow limited.

3. filling nozzle according to claim 2 is characterized in that, gas introducing passage (28) has one at its exit end and is cylindrical-conical deflection plane (46) substantially.

4. according to claim 2 or 3 described filling nozzles, it is characterized in that, freeing pipe (42) axially leads to the central authorities that gas is introduced the annular opening of passage (28), and gas is introduced the central authorities that passage (28) axially leads to ringwise substantially product dispensation hole (36,40).

5. according to one of aforesaid right requirement described filling nozzle, it is characterized in that gas is introduced passage and is supplied to the gas that a kind of product to be allocated relatively is neutrality.

6. according to one of aforesaid right requirement described filling nozzle, it is characterized in that the jet flow of product has an axial rotational component.

7. filling nozzle according to claim 6, it is characterized in that, it has a ring rotation chamber (32), product is ejected into this rotating room from inlet (38) with tangential speed component, rotating room (32) extends axially by a torus section (36), and the exit end of torus section (36) forms product dispensation hole (40).

8. filling nozzle according to claim 7 is characterized in that, rotating room (32) are connected with torus section (36) by a funnel-shaped surface (34).

9. filling nozzle according to claim 7 is characterized in that, axially intubate (16,18) axially runs through rotating room (32).

10. a container filling machine is characterized in that, it has at least one can station of being furnished with the described filling nozzle of one of aforementioned claim.

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