JPH07267297A - Filling valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent coming of abrasion dust into a container for a filling valve which fills the container with liquid and prevent errors in the liquid level or bubbles from occurring to the liquid in the container. CONSTITUTION:A filling valve 142 is fixed to the outer periphery of a liquid storing tank 140. As a container 143 is carried to a position under the filling valve 142 of a rotary filing machine, the opening of the container is sealed first, and then a bent tube 148 is lowered inside a through hole of the valve body with an ascending/descending means. As the bent tube 148 is lowered to a specified position, a gap between the outer periphery of the bent tube and the through hole is sealed by reducing the inner diameter of an elastic body arranged between the outer periphery of the bent tube and the through hole of the valve body and attached to the valve body side, and at the same time the bent tube is held. Gaseous matter in the container is exhausted through the bent tube 148 by virtue of this sealing as the container is filled with a liquid, and the pressure inside the container increases. The increase of the pressure is detected by a pressure sensor 185, and thereby filling of the liquid is completed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling valve for filling a container with liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of such a conventional technique, a filling valve introduced by Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-34358 will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a bottle filling machine having a conventional filling valve (bottle filling valve), and FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

In the figure, a filler ball 44 is a pressure vessel, in which a main liquid 45 is filled up to a specified liquid level by a known control device, and a counter pressure 46 (air or air is provided in a space above the specified liquid level. Carbon dioxide) is added.

A filler ball cover 47 is fastened to the filler ball 44 with a bolt 49 via a packing 48, and the filler ball 44 is hermetically sealed to prevent leakage. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of bottled valves 50 are arranged on the outer circumference of the filler ball 44.

Further, in FIG. 6, the filler ball 44 is provided with a liquid communication hole 51 for communicating with the bottle filling valve 50, a liquid cock 52, a counter pressure communicating hole 53, and a counter pressure cock 54 corresponding to the bottle filling valve 50.

The bottle-filled valve 50 is positioned on the valve mounting surface 55 of the filler ball 44 with a positioning pin 56 and is mounted with bolts 59 (FIG. 5) via O-rings 57 and 58 for sealing.

Next, the structure of the bottle valve 50 will be described.
The valve is constructed around a valve body 60, and a sniff block 61 is provided below the valve body 60.
Through the packing 62 and the positioning pin 63
It is fixed at 4.

At the same time, a spring case 65 inside the valve body 60 is also fixed, and a bottle mouth seal packing 66 is fixed to a lower portion of the sniff block 61 with a mouthpiece 67.

When the bottle is packed, the bottle 68 is centered by the mouthpiece 67 and sealed by the bottle mouth seal packing 66.

A sniff orifice 69 is provided on the left side of the sniff block 61, and a sniff stem 70 is combined with a cap nut 71 so that the sniff stem 70 can slide left and right. Also, packing 72 is attached to the sniff stem 70.
Is attached, and the spring 73 seals against leakage.

A valve stem 74 is supported inside the spring case 65 so that it can slide up and down, and a packing 75 is attached to the lower part of the valve stem 74, and the packing 75 and the upper part of the sniff block 61 are protruded. A liquid valve 77 is configured with the portion 76.

The valve stem 74 has a snap ring 78.
The spring 80 constantly receives an upward force inside the spring case 65 via the collar 79 fixed to the valve stem 74.

A liquid valve 77 is provided at the center of the valve body 60.
There is an opening / closing lever mechanism, a boss 81 is further provided on the valve body 60, and a valve lever (inner) 82 and a valve lever (outer) 83, which constitute the lever mechanism, are provided with a spring 8.
4, a friction plate 85 is attached, and a pin 86 is used to fix the valve lever (inner) 82 and the valve lever (outer) 83, and an O-ring 87 prevents leakage.

FIG. 8 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 6, and the valve lever (outer) 83 can be rotated from the outside as shown by arrows 88 and 89 by an operation by a mechanism (not shown).

The state of being operated in the direction of arrow 88 is the state of FIG. 6, and the state of being operated in the direction of arrow 89 is FIG. In addition, in FIG. 8, the liquid valve 77 is in a closed state.

An upper lid 90 is fixed to the upper portion of the valve body 60 by a clamp 91, and a vent stem 92 is provided as a piston in a cylinder formed by the valve body 60 and the upper lid 90. A spring 93 is provided so as to push it down.

The vent stem 92 extends downward and is slidably held in the inner diameter of the valve stem 74, and a vent tube 94 is screwed to the lower end of the valve stem 74.

A spreader 95 is attached to the vent tube 94.
And a vent hole 96 is formed at the lower end of the vent tube 94. The vent hole 96 communicates with the vent hole 97 through the inner diameter holes of the vent tube 94 and the vent stem 92.
2 is provided with O-rings 98, 99, 100 for sealing,
The valve body 60 has O for sealing with the vent stem 92.
A ring 101 is provided.

The vent stem 92 is supported by the inner diameter of the valve body 60 so that it can slide up and down. When the counter pressure is applied to the cylinder 102, the vent stem 92 is supported.
Slides upward to compress the spring 93, and the vent tube 9
4 also moves to a higher position (state of FIG. 6), but in this case, the hole 10 is provided for exhaust of the spring chamber 103.
4 is required.

The upper portion of the vent stem 92 and the fitting portion with the upper lid 90 have a rectangular cross section, and the vent tube 94
It has a detent structure for screwing in.

Reference numeral 105 is a valve block that sends and receives counter pressure to and from the cylinder 102, and includes a bolt 106 and a pin 107.
It is fixed to the valve body 60 with an O
Rings 108 and 109 are provided.

Reference numeral 110 is an inlet valve so that it can slide on the valve block 105, an O-ring 111 and a packing 112 are combined, and a spring 113 normally seals the counter pressure. When the feed valve 110 is operated by an external operating mechanism (not shown) and pushed in the direction of arrow 114, counter pressure is applied to the cylinder 102 through the counter pressure air holes 115, 116, 117, and the vent stem 92. Rises to the state shown in FIG.

A discharge valve 118 is provided so as to be slidable on the valve block 105, and the packing 119 is normally sealed by a combination spring 120.
The arrow 1 can be operated from the outside by a mechanism not shown.
When pushed in the direction of 21, the counter pressure of the cylinder 102 is discharged through the ventilation holes 117 and 122.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 6, the main liquid 45 enters the inside of the valve body 60 through the liquid communication hole 51 and the liquid cock 52, and the counter pressure 46 passes through the communication hole 53 and the cock 54 and the valve body 60. Has been added inside the.

In the bottle closing process, the counter pressure 46 is controlled by operating the inlet valve 110 in the direction of the arrow 114 so that the vent hole 11 is closed.
It is also added to the cylinder 102 via 5,116,117. The bottle 68 is supplied from below in the empty state, and the bottle mouth is sealed by the seal 66 as shown in FIG.

Next, the bottle filling process will be described in sequence. When the valve lever (outer) 83 is moved in the direction of arrow 89 in FIG. 8 from the outside, the valve lever (inner) 82 is simultaneously moved and the lever (inner) 82 is moved. Moves away from collar 79.

At the same time, when the discharge valve 118 is pushed in the direction of arrow 121 by an operation from the outside, the counter pressure of the cylinder 102 is released to the outside through the vent holes 117 and 122, and the vent stem 92 is pushed by the spring 93 and descends. The vent tube 94 is at the position 94 'shown by the dotted line. As a result, the vent hole 97 provided in the vent stem 92 communicates with the counter pressure 46. Although the cylinder operation uses carbon dioxide gas in the tank, the carbon dioxide gas in the cylinder 102 is released in the operation in this case.

However, originally, only the air content in the bottle is returned to the tank during the bottle filling, so that the counter pressure 46 in the tank is consciously released to the atmosphere in order to keep it constant (that is, Since the float installed in the tank senses the liquid level of the tank and keeps it at a certain level,
The pressure inside the tank will be adjusted. In normal operation, the amount of air in the bottle returned to the tank is positive, and the amount released to the atmosphere during sniffing is negative, and the volume is positive. There is a lot of air in the tank needs to be released into the atmosphere, which is consciously released).

Further, the counter pressure 46 is the vent hole 9
7 through the inner diameter holes of the vent stem 92 and the vent tube 94 to be discharged from the vent hole 96 into the bottle for pressurization. When the bottle internal pressure becomes equal to the counter pressure 46, the spring 80 pushes up the snap ring 78, the valve stem 74, and the packing 75 to open the liquid valve 77, and the state shown in FIG. 7 is obtained.

In FIG. 7, the main liquid 45 is indicated by arrows 123 and 12.
4,125,126,127,128,129,130
It flows like this and flows into the bottle 68. At the same time, the counter pressure in the bottle flows as shown by arrows 131, 132, 133 and 134 and returns to the counter pressure 46. As a result, bottle filling progresses.

Next, the liquid level in the bottle rises and the vent hole 9
6 is closed, and further the vent tube 94 and the vent stem 92
When the water level reaches the same level as the liquid surface 135 of the main liquid 45, the main liquid flowing through the arrows 128 and 129 falls into the bottle as in the conventional case and the flow stops in the state of FIG.

Next, when the valve lever (outer) 83 is moved from the outside in the direction of the arrow 88 in FIG. 8, the valve lever (inner) 82 also moves at the same time and the lever (inner) 82 presses the collar 79, so that the collar 79 79, the snap ring 78, the valve stem 74, and the packing 75 are pushed down and the liquid valve 77
Is blocked.

When the inlet valve 110 is pushed in the direction of arrow 114 in FIG. 6 by an external operation, the counter pressure 46 enters the cylinder 102 through the vent holes 115, 116 and 117 and overcomes the force of the spring 93. Push up the vent stem 92. Vent tube 9 attached to vent stem 92
4, the spreader 95 is also pushed up at the same time, and the state shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. That is, when the vent stem 92 is pushed up, the carbon dioxide gas in the tank is discharged by pushing the feed valve 110, and then the feed valve 110 is returned to the original state, so that the cylinder 102 is discharged.
Since the inside is still under pressure, the vent stem 92
The state of pushing up can be maintained.

Of course, by pushing the discharge valve 118, the cylinder 102
When the internal pressure is released to the atmosphere, the force of the spring 93 pushes down the vent stem 92. Further, when pulling up the vent stem 92, the main liquid is scraped up, but there is no problem because the bottle mouth remains sealed by the seal packing 66.

The mechanism for pushing the inlet valve 110 is not particularly difficult and has the same action as pushing the sniff button in the conventional bottled valve. That is, the bottle filling machine generally has a rotary mechanism, and bottles are continuously supplied to and discharged from the valve. Therefore, it is only necessary to push the inlet valve 110 at a proper position, that is, before the sniffing step. It suffices if there is a fixed plate on the circumference of the mechanism.

Next, when the sniff stem 70 is pushed in the direction of arrow 137 in FIG. 6 from the outside, the counter pressure in the head space 138 of the bottle and the water level 136 (FIG. 7) of the inner diameter hole of the vent stem 92 are moved upward. A certain counter pressure is discharged from the open surface of the packing 72 through the sniff orifice 69, and the head space 138 is slowly depressurized to the atmospheric pressure. This completes the bottle filling, and the bottle is then discharged downward with a known device.

[0038]

By the way, the conventional filling valve as described above has various problems as described below.

(1) An O-ring or the like is provided between sliding mechanical parts, in particular, a vent stem integrated with a vent tube directly above a container and a valve stem having a through hole for passing the vent stem. Since it has the elastic body of, the abrasion powder of the elastic body due to the sliding between the sliding machine parts and the elastic body will enter into the important container, especially when the container cannot see the inside with a can etc. Can not be inspected, which is a serious problem.

(2) Also, for the same reason as above, the elastic body must be replaced in a short period of time.

(3) When many types of containers are filled with liquid, it is necessary to prepare different types of vent tubes having different lengths depending on the height of the liquid surface and the number of filling valves. It is difficult to adjust the length.

(4) The liquid level accuracy is poor because the filling amount is determined by mechanically blocking the air out of the vent tube.

(5) Due to the reason (3) above, the number of filling valves attached to the rotary filling machine must be changed every time the container is changed and the liquid level is different.

(6) When the filling height differs due to individual differences between filling valves, it is difficult to adjust each filling valve, and even if the adjustment is made, the filling valve and the vent tube must be stored one by one. I have to.

For each of the above reasons, there are problems that it takes a lot of time to change the container, the price becomes expensive, and the durability and reliability are lowered.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new filling valve which solves these problems.

[0047]

As a structure for achieving the above object, a filling valve of the present invention is fixed to the outer periphery of a liquid storage tank for supplying a filling liquid of a rotary filling machine, and an opening portion of a container at the time of filling is provided. After sealing, the liquid valve is opened to fill the container with the liquid from the liquid storage tank, and the gas in the container pushed out by the liquid is discharged to the upper space of the liquid storage tank based on the lower opening position of the vent tube. In a filling valve that regulates the height of the filling liquid level in a container, a means for moving up and down the vent tube and a through hole through which the vent tube passes are provided, and a bearing arranged in the through hole moves the vent tube in the vertical direction. A filling valve body that slidably supports, is mounted in the through hole between the vent tube outer circumference and the through hole, and is configured so as not to slide with the vent tube outer circumference while the vent tube is moving up and down. When the cement tube reaches the predetermined position, and characterized by having a ring-shaped elastic body configured to seal the gap of the vent tube periphery and the through-hole by scaled down the inner diameter.

Further, it is also effective that the filling valve described above has a ring-shaped elastic body for sealing the gap between the outer periphery of the vent tube and the through hole through which the vent tube passes and simultaneously clamping the vent tube.

Further, in any one of the filling valves, the ring-shaped elastic body is made hollow, and the working air or the working liquid is put into the hollow portion to reduce the inner diameter and discharge the working air or the working liquid. By doing so, the original state can be restored.

Then, when the filling liquid reaches the lower opening of the vent tube and the opening is closed, the pressure sensor senses a change in atmospheric pressure in the upper part of the container, and the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank are sensed. It is also preferable to provide means for interrupting the flow of gas between and.

Further, when the vent tube is lowered into the main body of the filling valve and comes to a predetermined position, the step portion which comes into contact with and stops the step portion of the vent tube described later and the vent tube are predetermined. When the vent tube is lowered to the position, a step portion is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the vent tube so as to contact the step portion of the valve body, and when the vent tube and each of the step portions provided on the valve body are contacted, the outer peripheral portion of the vent tube is provided. It is also possible to have an elastic body at or near the step portion of the valve body, which closes the gap between the vent tube outer peripheral portion and the through hole of the valve.

Further, in the above-mentioned filling valve, when the filling liquid reaches the lower opening of the vent tube and the opening is closed, the pressure sensor detects a change in the atmospheric pressure in the upper part of the container, and from that time, the change is detected in advance. It is also effective to have a means for interrupting the flow of gas between the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank after the time set by the timer.

Further, in the filling valve, a change in atmospheric pressure above the container is detected by a pressure sensor, the flow of gas between the vent tube and the upper space of the storage tank is shut off, and a timer is used for a predetermined time. It is also preferable to open the sniff valve after sensing the change in atmospheric pressure.

[0054]

According to the filling valve of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, when the container is carried under the filling valve of the rotary filling machine, the opening of the container is first sealed and then the vent tube is moved up and down. For example, by a cam or the like, the vent tube arranged in the through hole of the valve body is lowered, and when the vent tube is lowered to a predetermined position, it is continuously held by the cam or the like.

In the middle of the descent, the vent tube is guided by the bearing arranged in the through hole of the valve body,
Since the fitting is loose, the mutual wear of the parts is small and the wear powder does not come out.

When the vent tube descends to a certain position, it is inserted between the outer circumference of the vent tube and the through hole of the valve body, and the inner diameter of the elastic body attached to the valve body side is reduced to penetrate the outer circumference of the vent tube. It holds the vent tube while sealing the gap between the holes.

Due to the seal, only the vent tube serves as an escape path for the gas in the container accompanying the filling of the container with the liquid, and the container is filled with the liquid, and the height of the liquid surface is increased by the vent tube. When the liquid reaches the lower opening position of the container and the liquid closes the lower opening of the vent tube, the escape path of the gas in the container disappears and the pressure in the container increases.

Then, the pressure sensor detects that the pressure has risen, shuts off the gas flow between the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank, and there is no escape path for the gas in the container. Over.

In this case, the height of the liquid surface of the container can be freely changed by changing the amount of elevation of the valve elevating means.

As another structure, a step portion is provided on the vent tube, and a step portion for contacting the vent tube is also provided on the valve body, and the vent tube is moved up and down by a means for raising and lowering the vent tube. The valve body is lowered until it abuts, and when the valve body is lowered to that position, it is sealed with an elastic body provided at or near the step.

After that, the liquid is filled, and the pressure change when the lower opening of the vent tube is blocked by the liquid is detected, and the gas flow between the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank is detected by a timer after a certain period of time. By shutting off, the liquid level can be changed by setting the time of the timer without changing the length of the vent tube.

[0062]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing of a filling valve attached to a rotary filling machine for carbon dioxide beverages. 1 is a side sectional view of the filling valve, FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the filling valve in a state different from that of FIG.

In these figures, 140 is an annular filler bowl (hereinafter referred to as a liquid storage tank) for storing a carbon dioxide beverage as a filling liquid at a constant liquid level, and this liquid storage tank 140 is covered by a lid 141. It is sealed to withstand the counter pressure of carbon dioxide drinks. And the liquid storage tank 14
A large number of filling valves 142 are fixed to the outer periphery of 0 at equal pitches.

When the liquid storage tank 140 rotates horizontally, part 1
During the rotation, each filling valve 142 receives the containers 143 one after another, presses and seals the opening of the containers 143, fills the containers 143 with the carbon dioxide gas beverage, and after the liquid filling, sends them to the next lid closing step in order.

The filling valve 142 includes a central valve body 144 fixed to the liquid storage tank 140 and the central valve body 1
An upper valve body 145 fixed to the upper side of the valve 44, a crown 146 further above the upper valve body 145, and a lower valve body 147 fixed to the same center line below the central valve body 144 constitute a valve body. It

The vent tube 148 is slidably supported by bearings 171 and 172 fixedly mounted on the upper valve body 145 in through holes which vertically penetrate through the upper, lower, middle and lower bodies in common. .

Although the bearings 171 and 172 are fixed to the upper valve body 145 here, the location may be changed in consideration of processing characteristics and the like.

It is sandwiched between the upper valve body 145 and the crown tube 146, and similarly the upper valve body 145 and the central valve body 1
A pair of air-actuated clamps 150 are mounted between 44.

The clamp 150 is composed of a support ring 151 having an air passage and a rubber seal clamp 152 which is an elastic body capable of being internally tightened, and clamps the vent tube 148 at an arbitrary position and at the same time, the upper valve body 14
It is possible to seal between the through hole of No. 5 and the vent tube 148.

A pair of guide bars 154 are fitted to the bearing portions 145a, 146a provided on the upper valve body 145 and the crown tube 146 so that they can move up and down.
An arm 155 is fixedly mounted on the upper end of the arm 54.
A cam follower 156 driven by a cam 157 fixed to an external fixing member is attached to the. Further, a fork 158 is fixed to the guide bar 154. The fork 158 engages with the groove of the grooved ring 159 fixedly mounted on the vent tube 148 to engage the cam follower 156.
Is transmitted to the vent tube 148.

A vent line opening / closing valve 162, which is a pneumatically operated diaphragm valve, is attached to the upper portion of the crown tube 146. This vent line on-off valve 162 sends the pressurized carbon dioxide gas in the liquid storage tank 140 from the liquid storage tank to the container 143 through the connecting pipe 161 and the vent tube 148 before the liquid filling, and also the carbon dioxide gas beverage. Is opened while the container 143 is filled, and the opening 148 of the vent tube 148 is opened.
When the pressure sensor 185 senses a pressure change in the container 143 when the carbon dioxide gas beverage is blocked by a, it is closed.

The lower valve body 147, together with the central valve body 144, fills the liquid flow path 144a from the liquid storage tank 140,
147a is formed, and the inner tube portion of the lower valve body 147 is separated from the vent tube side by the guide tube 164 of the vent tube 148. At the bottom of the lower valve body 147, the liquid valve seat 1 on the same center line as the vent tube hole
It has 47b and a liquid passage 147c.

A pneumatically operated diaphragm actuator 167 is attached to the upper portion of the cylindrical space of the lower valve body 147. The diaphragm actuator 167 includes a support ring 168 having an air passage and a rubber diaphragm 1
The liquid valve ring 165, which is attached to the diaphragm 169, is vertically operated by air pressure.

A liquid valve seal packing 166 is fitted on the lower end surface 165a of the liquid valve ring. Liquid valve ring 16
5 and the liquid valve seat 147b of the lower valve body 147 form a liquid valve.

A container seal cylinder 175 is fitted around the outer periphery of the lower valve body 147. A seal packing 176 that seals the container 143 and the container seal cylinder 175 at the time of filling the liquid is fitted in the lower part of the container seal cylinder 175, and the upper cylinder portion 175a and the outer peripheral step portion 14 of the lower valve body 147 are fitted.
The pneumatic cylinder 175b is formed by 7d, and the cylinder 17
When air pressure is applied to 5b, the container seal cylinder 175 descends and press-fits to the container 143 via the seal packing 176. When the air pressure of the cylinder 175b is released, the flange 175e of the container seal cylinder is pushed up by the bolt 177 and the compression spring 178, and the container seal cylinder 175 can be returned upward.

Reference numeral 180 is a seal ring for releasing the counter pressure. Further, the stopper cylinder 179 fitted to the bolt 177 is a container seal cylinder 175 when there is no container 143.
Is a stopper to prevent unnecessary lowering.

Gas passages 147e and 144b pass from the lower portion of the lower valve body 147 to the central portion valve body 144,
The gas passage 144b is ventilated by a pressure sensor 185 that senses a change in the atmospheric pressure above the container 143 at the moment when the liquid level fills the lower opening 148a of the vent tube during liquid filling. The pressure sensor 185 is attached to the central valve body 144.

A gassing valve 186 and a sniff valve 187, which are pneumatically operated diaphragm valves, are attached to the central valve body 144. The gassing valve 186 is connected to the vacuum pump 189 by a gas passage, and is a switching valve for gassing that opens the gas passages 147e and 144b and the negative pressure passage immediately before liquid filling to suck out the air in the container and replace it with carbon dioxide. . The diaphragm valve 187 is a sniffing switching valve that is connected to the collecting and discharging pipe 190 by a gas passage and releases the counter pressure in the container when the liquid filling is completed.

Each pneumatic actuator (clamp 15) is controlled by a control device (not shown) and a solenoid valve for sending operating air.
0, diaphragm 167, cylinder 175b) and each vent line opening / closing valve 162, gassing valve 186, and sniff valve 187 are operated at determined timings.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the above embodiment will be described. First, the filling step will be described. (1) Receiving a container: In this process, each component (as shown in FIG. 1) is in the following state and position. That is, the container seal cylinder 175 is in a raised position, the air pressure-operated clamp 150 is in a state where air pressure is released and not clamped, the vent tube 148 is in a raised position, and air pressure is applied to the air pressure-operated diaphragm actuator 167 to close the liquid valve. The vent line opening / closing valve 162 is closed, and the gassing valve 186 for applying a negative pressure to the container 143 and the sniff valve 187 both receive the container 143 in a closed state.

(2) Container holding: Air pressure is applied to lower the container sealing cylinder 175 to hold down the container 143 and at the same time seal the mouth of the container 143, and the cam 15 installed outside
7 and the cam follower mechanism provided in the filling valve lowers the vent tube 148, and after the opening 148a of the vent tube reaches a predetermined position and stops the lowering, the air actuated clamp 150 is operated to operate the vent tube 148. And at the same time seal the gap with the clamp hole and open the gassing valve 186 to open the container 14
3 is evacuated to a negative pressure, then the vent line opening / closing valve 162 is opened to send the counter gas into the container 143, the air in the container 143 is replaced with the counter gas, and then the gassing valve 186 is closed.

In this embodiment, the vent tube 14 is used.
8 was clamped, but cam follower 15 with cam 157
6 is kept in a fixed position, the clamping force of the air-actuated clamp 150 is weakened and the air-actuated clamp 15
It is also possible for 0 to be solely responsible for the seal.

(3) Liquid filling: After the counter pressure in the container 143 has completely risen, if the air pressure of the pneumatically operated diaphragm actuator 167 is released, the liquid valve ring 165 rises due to the counter pressure and the liquid valve opens, (The state at this time is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3).

The container 143 is filled with the liquid up to a prescribed amount,
The pressure sensor 18 measures the change in the atmospheric pressure above the container 143 at the moment when the liquid surface closes the lower opening 148a of the vent tube 148.
5, the vent line on-off valve 162 is opened by the signal of the pressure sensor 185, and the flow of gas between the liquid storage tank 140 and the vent tube 148 is stopped.
Stop filling the liquid in 3. Then, compressed air is sent to the pneumatically operated diaphragm actuator 167, and the liquid valve ring 165 is lowered to close the liquid valve.

In this embodiment, the vent line opening / closing valve 162 is closed first and then the liquid valve is closed in consideration of responsiveness.
It is also possible to reverse the closing order.

(4) Releasing container: Next, the sniff valve 187 is opened to open the container 143 and the gas passage 147 of the filling valve.
e, 144b after the pressure is reduced to the atmospheric pressure, the sniff valve 187 is closed, the compressed air of the pneumatically operated clamp 150 is released to release the clamp and seal of the vent tube 148, the vent tube 148 is raised, and the cylinder 175
After sending the compressed air to b and raising the container seal cylinder 175, the filled container 143 is discharged to the covering step. (Return to the state of FIG. 1)

As described above, in the filling valve 142, the mechanically moving part is the vent tube 148 having a long moving distance.
However, everything else is operated by pneumatic actuators (each pneumatic actuator is controlled by a corresponding solenoid valve installed in a central control unit (not shown) and an electric circuit programmed to operate the solenoid valve). The structure is simple, the timing of each operation is easy to set, and the structure is advantageous for sanitation.

Regarding the height of the filled liquid surface of the container 143, as described in the above section (3) Liquid filling, at the moment when the liquid surface being filled up closes the lower opening 148a of the vent tube 148, Since the vent line on-off valve or the liquid valve is closed by the signal of the pressure sensor 185 that detects a change in the atmospheric pressure above the water 143, the liquid surface is determined by the position of the lower opening 148a of the vent tube 148.

Therefore, the height of the cam 157 fixed to the external fixing member that moves up and down the cam follower 156 in the mechanism for holding and moving up and down the vent tube 148 installed outside the upper valve body 145 is adjusted, By changing the lower end stop position of the lower end 148a of the vent tube 148, it is possible to change or adjust the liquid level in the container.

In this embodiment, the pneumatic actuator is used as the elastic body for sealing or clamping, but it is also possible to press the side surface of the ring-shaped elastic body to reduce the inner diameter for sealing.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is also a filling valve attached to a rotary filling machine for carbon dioxide drinks, similar to the first embodiment, and will be described with reference to the sectional view shown in FIG.

Since most of the present embodiment has the same structure and operation as the first embodiment, the description of the common parts will be omitted.

The filling valve 200 includes a central valve body 144 fixed to the liquid storage tank 140 and a central valve body 1 of the same.
The upper valve body 201 fixed to the upper side of the valve 44, the intermediate cylinder 202 and the crown cylinder 203 above the upper valve body 201, and the lower valve main body 147 fixed to the same center line below the central valve body 144 The body is composed.

The upper and lower main bodies and the intermediate cylinder 20
2. The vent tube 204 passing through the through hole vertically penetrating the crown tube 203 is supported by the bearing 172 fixedly mounted on the upper valve body 201 and the bearing 207 fixedly fixed on the intermediate tube 202 and slidably fitted therein. It is movably installed.

The vent tube 204 is provided with a seal ring groove 204b on the outer circumference of the upper part thereof, and the step 2 is provided below the seal ring groove 204b.
04c is provided. The seal ring 205 is fitted into the seal ring groove 204b of the vent tube, and the lower step 2
An O-ring 206 is fitted in 04c.

When the vent tube 204 descends, O
The ring 206 comes into contact with the step of the narrowed portion of the through hole through which the vent tube 204 provided in the lower portion of the upper valve body 201 passes, and stops the vent tube 204, and at the same time, the through hole of the upper valve body 201 and the vent tube 204 Seals the gap of the intermediate cylinder 20
The gap between the through hole 2 and the vent tube 204 is sealed.

A pair of guide bars 154 are fitted to the bearing portions 202a, 203a provided on the intermediate cylinder 202 and the crown cylinder 203 so as to be vertically movable, and an arm 155 is fixed to the upper end of the guide bar 154. A cam follower 156, which is installed and is driven by a cam 208 fixed to an external fixing member, is attached to the arm 155.

The guide bar 154 has a fork 15
8 is fixed. The fork 158 engages with the groove 204d of the vent tube 204 to transmit the movement of the cam follower 156 to the vent tube 204.

Since the structure of the lower valve body 147 fixedly mounted on the central valve body 144 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.
First, the filling step will be described.

(1) Receiving container: In this step,
The respective component parts (showing this state in the right half of FIG. 4) are in the following states and positions. That is, the container seal cylinder 175 is in the raised position, the vent tube 204 is in the raised position, the liquid valve is closed, the vent line opening / closing valve 162 is closed, and the container 143.
Gassing valve 186 and sniff valve 187 that apply negative pressure to
The container 143 is received in a closed state.

(2) Container holding: Air pressure is applied to lower the container sealing cylinder 175 to hold down the container 143 and at the same time seal the mouth of the container 143, and the cam 20 installed outside.
8 and the cam follower mechanism provided in the filling valve 200 lowers the vent tube 204. The vent tube 204 stops by hitting the step of the narrowed portion of the through hole provided in the lower portion of the upper valve body 201, and the O-ring 206 seals the gap between the through hole of the upper valve body 201 and the vent tube 204, and also seals. The ring 205 is the intermediate tube 2
The gap between the through hole 02 and the vent tube 204 is sealed.

Next, the gassing valve 186 is opened to open the container 1
The air in 43 is evacuated to a negative pressure, then the vent tube opening / closing valve 162 is opened, counter gas is sent into the container 143, the air in the container 143 is replaced with counter gas, and then the gassing valve 186 is closed.

(3) Liquid filling: After the counter pressure in the container 143 has completely risen, if the air pressure of the pneumatically operated diaphragm actuator 167 is released, the liquid valve ring 165 rises due to the counter pressure and the liquid valve opens, (The state at this time is shown in the left half of FIG. 4).

The liquid is filled in the container 143 up to a prescribed amount,
The pressure sensor 18 measures the change in the atmospheric pressure above the container 143 at the moment when the liquid surface closes the lower opening 148a of the vent tube 148.
5, a timer (not shown) is activated by the signal of the pressure sensor 185, and after a certain period of time corresponding to the liquid surface height corresponding to the amount of liquid to be filled in the container 143, the vent line on-off valve 162 is closed, Storage tank 140 and vent tube 14
Stop the flow of gas between 3.

Thereafter, compressed air is sent to the pneumatically operated diaphragm actuator 167 to lower the liquid valve ring 165 to close the liquid valve.

Needless to say, the vent line opening / closing valve may be closed after the liquid valve is closed as in the case of the first embodiment.

Further, the pressure sensor 185 senses a change in the atmospheric pressure above the container 143, and the signal from the pressure sensor 185 activates a timer and the vent line on-off valve 1
62 is closed to stop the gas flow between the liquid storage tank 140 and the vent tube 143. Also, the sniff valve 187 is opened only during the time when the timer is operating.

As a result, the vent line opening / closing valve 162 is closed, but the gas in the container 143 is not contained in the sniff valve 1.
Going out of 87, the filling of the liquid does not stop.

After that, when the sniff valve 187 is closed after the elapse of a timer corresponding to the liquid level of the container 143, the gas escape in the container 143 disappears and the liquid filling stops. Then, the liquid valve is closed. In this case, since the liquid and bubbles do not rise in the vent tube 143, there is an advantage that the liquid remaining at the time of the next filling is prevented from becoming a nucleus of foaming and obstructing the filling.

(4) Releasing the container: Next, the sniff valve 187 is opened to open the container 143 and the gas passage 147 of the filling valve.
e, 144b After the pressure is reduced to atmospheric pressure, the sniff valve 187 is closed, the vent tube 148 is raised, compressed air is sent to the cylinder 175b, and the container seal cylinder 175 is raised (state of the right half of FIG. 4). Then, the filled container 143 is discharged to the lid covering step.

Similar to the first embodiment described above, the filling valve 200 has only the vent tube 204 having a long moving distance as a mechanically moving portion, and all the other pneumatic actuators (each pneumatic actuator is a central control unit not shown). Is controlled by the corresponding solenoid valve installed in each and the electric circuit programmed to operate the solenoid valve)
The structure is simple because it is operated by, and the timing of each operation is easy to set, and the structure is advantageous for sanitation.

For adjusting the height of the liquid level filled in the container 143, the lower end 204 of the vent tube in the mechanism for gripping and raising and lowering the vent tube 204 as in the first embodiment.
Since the adjustment method by changing the stop position of a cannot be adopted, the filling liquid surface level is changed or adjusted by the method described below.

When the pressure sensor 185 senses a change in the atmospheric pressure in the upper portion of the container at the moment when the liquid surface closes the lower opening 204a of the vent tube during the filling of the liquid, the signal is set for a certain time by the timer (the liquid is left as it is). Vent tube 20
4), the vent line on-off valve 162 is closed, the flow of gas between the liquid storage tank 140 and the vent tube 204 is closed, and then the electromagnetic valve is instructed to operate the diaphragm actuator 167 to move the liquid. The valve ring 165 is lowered to close the liquid valve, and at the same time, the counter pressure passage valve 1
If 62 is closed, the amount of liquid in the vent tube 204 is adjusted by adjusting the set time of the timer, and the liquid level is set to an arbitrary position higher than the liquid level height when the pressure sensor 185 operates. be able to.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been briefly described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. It belongs to the technical scope of the invention.

[0116]

The filling valve of the present invention has the following effects. (1) In the filling valve of the present invention, the only part that is mechanically moved by the action of a cam or the like provided outside is the elevation of the vent tube, and after the elevation of the vent tube is stopped, the area between the vent tube and the valve body is reduced. Since the seal is used, there are few wear points, and the friction of the seal part, which is particularly liable to wear, is prevented, so that it is possible to avoid the mixing of wear powder into the container and the maintenance is easy.

(2) Further, since the lower part of the valve for sealing the container opening of the container which does not move up and down, the counter valve, the filling operation, the gassing valve, the sniff valve, etc. can be operated by the operation of the remote solenoid valve, the mechanical adjustment is slight. Easy to assemble and adjust.

(3) When filling the liquid, the vent line on-off valve and the liquid valve are immediately closed by sensing the pressure change when the liquid surface reaches the lower end opening of the vent tube, so that the liquid does not rise in the vent tube. As in the conventional case, the liquid in the vent tube is returned to the container when the filling is completed, so that the error of the liquid level in the container and the problem that the liquid stirs and foams do not occur.

(4) In the conventional container, the container having a narrow mouth such as a bottle and the container having a wide mouth such as a can differ in the rising height of the liquid due to the liquid returning from the vent tube. With the structure of the filling valve of, it is not necessary to consider the liquid return,
It is easy to make the filling valve compatible.

(5) Further, since the filling valve of the present invention has a structure in which the container is not raised or lowered, the container is prevented from collapsing, unevenly contacting the filling valve, and liquid leakage.

(6) Further, in the structure of the filling valve of the present invention, the height of the liquid surface in the container can be easily adjusted only by adjusting the height of the external operation cam.

(7) The filling valve of another embodiment simplifies the method of stopping and sealing the vent tube and is advantageous in terms of cost, but since the liquid rises slightly inside the vent tube, There is a tendency for some error in the liquid level, but this is not a problem.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a filling valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front view of the filling valve of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a filling operation diagram of the filling valve of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a filling valve according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional rotary filling machine.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional filling valve.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional filling valve showing an operating state different from that of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view on arrow B of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a conventional filling valve during bottle filling.

[Explanation of symbols]

 140 Storage Tank 142 Filling Valve 143 Container 144 Central Part Valve Body 144a Filling Liquid Flow Path 145 Upper Valve Body 146 Crown Tube 147 Lower Valve Body 147a Filling Liquid Flow Path 147b Liquid Valve Seat 147c Liquid Passage 148 Vent Tube 148a Bent Tube Lower Opening 150 Pneumatic Actuated Clamp 156 Cam Follower 157 Cam 158 Arm 165 Liquid Valve Ring 166 Liquid Valve Seal Packing 167 Pneumatic Diaphragm Actuator 171 Bearing 175 Container Seal Tube 185 Pressure Sensor 200 Fill Valve 201 Upper Valve Body 202 Intermediate Tube 203 Crown Tube 204 Bent Tube 204a Vent tube lower opening 205 Seal ring 206 O-ring 208 Groove cam

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A liquid filling tank for a rotary filling machine, which is fixed to the outer periphery of a liquid storage tank, seals the opening of the container at the time of filling, and then opens a liquid valve to fill the container from the liquid storage tank. Then, the vent tube is moved up and down in a filling valve that regulates the filling liquid level in the container based on the lower opening position of the vent tube that discharges the gas in the container pushed out into the liquid into the upper space of the liquid storage tank. Between the vent tube outer periphery and the through hole, and a filling valve main body having a through hole through which the vent tube passes, and a bearing arranged in the through hole slidably supporting the vent tube in a vertical direction. Is attached to the through hole, and while the vent tube is moving up and down, it is configured so as not to slide with the outer circumference of the vent tube.
A filling valve comprising a ring-shaped elastic body configured to seal the gap between the outer periphery of the vent tube and the through hole by reducing the inner diameter when the vent tube reaches a predetermined position. 2. A ring-shaped elastic body for sealing a gap between a vent tube outer periphery which is slidable in a vertical direction in a filling valve body and a through hole through which the vent tube passes, and at the same time clamping the vent tube. The filling valve according to claim 1. 3. A ring-shaped elastic body is made hollow, and working air or working liquid is introduced into the hollow portion to reduce the inner diameter, and the working air or working liquid is discharged to restore the original state. The filling valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: 4. The pressure sensor detects a change in atmospheric pressure in the upper part of the container when the filling liquid reaches the lower opening of the vent tube and closes the opening, and the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank are sensed. The filling valve according to claim 1, further comprising means for shutting off a gas flow between the filling valve and the valve. 5. A rotary filling machine, which is fixed to the outer periphery of a liquid storage tank for supplying the filling liquid, seals the opening of the container at the time of filling, and then opens the liquid valve to fill the container with the liquid. In a filling valve that controls the height of the filling liquid surface in the container with reference to the lower opening position of the vent tube that discharges the gas in the container that is pushed out to the upper space of the liquid storage tank, means for moving the vent tube up and down, The valve body has a through-hole through which the vent tube passes, and a bearing provided in the through-hole is provided to support the vent tube so that the vent tube can slide in the vertical direction. When it comes to the predetermined position, the step portion which comes into contact with the step portion of the vent tube described later and stops, and when the vent tube descends to a predetermined position, A step portion abutting on the step portion of the valve body is provided, and when the vent tube and the step portion of the valve body abut each other, the vent tube outer peripheral portion and the step portion of the valve body or in the vicinity thereof, A filling valve comprising an elastic body for closing a gap between an outer peripheral portion of the vent tube and a through hole of the valve. 6. The pressure sensor detects a change in atmospheric pressure in the upper part of the container when the filling liquid reaches the lower opening of the vent tube and closes the opening, and a time set in advance by a timer from the time of the detection. The filling valve according to claim 5, further comprising means for cutting off a gas flow between the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank. 7. A pressure sensor senses a change in atmospheric pressure in the upper part of the container when the filling liquid reaches the lower opening of the vent tube and closes the opening, and the vent tube and the upper space of the liquid storage tank are detected. 6. The filling valve according to claim 5, wherein the sniff valve is opened and then closed for a preset time according to the means for interrupting the gas flow between the two and the pressure sensor.