Patents Assigned to GEA Finnah GmbH
  • Patent number: 6736379
    Abstract: Apparatus for producing an aerosol including a gaseous component, especially air, such as sterile air, and a liquid component, especially a sterilizing agent such as peroxide. The apparatus includes an atomizing container in which the liquid component is atomized continuously and mixed with the current of gas which passes through the atomizing container. For this purpose, an atomizing nozzle for the liquid component of the aerosol is centrally arranged in the lower region of the atomizing container and a mechanism for forming an upwardly directed, bundled current of gas, which flows coaxially over the atomizing nozzle is arranged in front of the atomizing nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventors: Herbert Wegner, Gottfried Kowalik
  • Patent number: 6701692
    Abstract: The device for sealing plastic bottles, especially PET bottles, after they are filled with a material under aseptic conditions, comprises a magazine for the seals, a delivery device for taking individual seals from the magazine and placing the seals on the filling opening of the bottles, which are fed to the treatment stations singly, consecutively and in a clocked sequence. The device further comprises a tool for carrying out the sealing operation. To this end, the delivery device takes sealing blanks, which are used as the seals, from the magazine and passes them on to the filling opening of the respectively prepared bottle, after which the sealing tool seals the sealing blank in the same working cycle onto the edge region surrounding the filling opening of the bottle, which remains in its position of readiness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas Niehr
  • Patent number: 6516939
    Abstract: For transporting bottles with a carrying ring in the neck region, particularly PET bottles, along a specified path of motion through processing stations (2, 3, 4, 5, 6), of a processing installation particularly a bottle-filling installation, in each case a number of bottles (8), grouped in a row (9) transversely to the direction of transport (20), is transported by a carrier (13) and positioned relative to the latter. The carriers (13) can be moved by conveying chains (11) or similar driving means at uniform intervals consecutively from a bottle feeding station (1) past at least one processing station, especially a filling station, to a bottle delivery station (7) and, from there, empty back to the bottle feeding station. As carrier for a row (9) of bottles (8), a cellular board-like flat carrying strip (13) is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Schmidt, Thomas Niehr
  • Patent number: 6341472
    Abstract: A machine for sealing bottles with sealing caps includes a transporting track for supplying sealing caps, a separating device for making available separated sealing caps and a transfer device for placing the separated sealing caps on the bottles. At least the transfer device is disposed in a sterile chamber and a spraying device is provided for introducing a sterilizing agent into the interior space of the sealing caps and a drying device is also provided for driving sterilizing agent out of the sealing caps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Klaus Schroeder
  • Patent number: 6328928
    Abstract: A method and a machine for preparing and filling containers with a product, for which method and machine the containers are grouped in rows at right angles to the transporting direction with the container openings facing upwardly and aligned at a distance from one another. The containers are swiveled, row by row, into an at least approximately vertical position with the container openings facing downwardly and rinsed jointly on the inside with a cleansing agent. The rinsed containers are dried on the inside in a first drying station and, after passing through the first drying station, are charged into a sterile environment. After a row of containers has entered the sterile environment, the containers are sterilized on the inside by means of a sterilizing agent and, in a second drying station, residues of sterilizing agent are expelled from the sterilized containers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2001
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventors: Klaus Schroeder, Ulrich Steinhauser
  • Patent number: 5464595
    Abstract: In a method for aseptically drawing off food and drink into plastic containers, the container sheet is plasticized for molding the containers and subsequently molded in a sterile environment, after which the container recesses are filled and closed off by means of a lid sheet. For this method and before the filling process, the container sheet is acted upon in a longitudinal segment by means of steam for sterilization purposes and is cooled on its side opposite to the steam-impingement area. Before it is supplied to the container sheet, the lid sheet is sterilized. After they are sterilized and until they are combined, the lid sheet and the container sheet are kept in germ-free surroundings. In order to be sterilized on both sides, the container sheet is acted upon reciprocally in the flat state before it is molded, with steam in two consecutive treatment processes in, in each case, the same length segment, and, at the same time, cooled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 7, 1995
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Josef Finnah
  • Patent number: 5408804
    Abstract: A method for filling and closing off a two-chamber container with different filling materials includes two sealing steps for the closing-off procedure, the first chamber being filled with the first material under sterile conditions and closed off over a first partial seal with a covering sheet, after which the second chamber is filled with the second material and closed off by means of a second partial seal with formation of a fully sealed two-chamber container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 25, 1995
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Klaus Schroder
  • Patent number: 5017125
    Abstract: An apparatus for feeding a label into a mold cavity of a bottom tool which can move up and down in a apparatus for thermoforming plastic containers from a film includes a feeder for the intermittent advancement of a strip of labels by a predetermined amount, a cutting means for cutting off a single label each time from the leading edge of the label strip, and transport means for transferring the single label to a final position in the mold cavity in which it lies against a side wall of the mold cavity and is held in place. The transport means is a transfer arm which grips the label strip and before the label is out off and, after it is cut off, carries it over the top edge of the mold cavity of the bottom tool while the latter is in its bottom, starting position, and lays it against one side wall of the mold cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1991
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Josef Finnah
  • Patent number: D351997
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1994
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Josef Finnah
  • Patent number: D402546
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1998
    Assignee: GEA Finnah GmbH
    Inventor: Martin Massing