CONTAINER-FILLING AND WEIGHT-RELATED DOSING DEVICE

Abstract

The intended use of this device is for filling and weight related dosing of containers with a cylindrical neck and a ring around the neck. The device consists of connected gripping device (7) and closed type drawing mechanism (3). With one variation realization, the gripping device (7) consists of two jaws (8) moving in a horizontal plane, mounted onto a supporting plate (10) and interconnected by means of a spring (H). The changeable fixing element (13) is mounted between the middle sections of the two movable jaws (8), attached onto the supporting plate (10). A protrusion (14) is shaped at the front end of the changeable fixing element (13), pressing part of the upper surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4). A round area (15) is shaped at the front end of the supporting plate (10), used for supporting and pressing part of the lower surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention constitutes a container-filling and weight-related dosing device which can find application in machines and equipment, mainly in the food industry, intended for automated filling of fluids into containers with cylindrical ringed necks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There exists a device for filling and measuring the weight of containers with cylindrical neck and a ring around the neck, consisting of connected gripping device and container weight measuring mechanism which measures the quantity of container content (EP NO 1 025 424 B1). The gripping device consists of two jaws that move in a horizontal plane, connected with a spring and mounted on a supporting console plate. The console plate is connected with a tensometric sensor for receiving weight measurements from the weight measuring mechanism, which is a box consisting of hollow parts, fitted with a pipe and a protective sleeve.

In their front end, the jaws form a circle for gripping the neck of the container. There is a protrusion on the upper surface of the front end of each jaw on which rests the ring of the container during operation.

The filling and weighing device itself is part of a filling installation of the carousel type and it includes a rotating platform with a typical filling system equipped with filling nozzles and filling and weighing devices.

During operation of this device, containers are suspended vertically by their ring on the jaws, the jaws being connected with the weight measuring mechanism.

The existing device has certain shortcomings, some of which are listed below:

• • a complex structure with numerous elements, which is a condition for inaccurate operation of the weight measuring sensor;
  • each container is gripped below its supporting ring, relying solely on the force of the spring drawing the two jaws together to provide the necessary stability of the container during the filling operation and the rotation of the carousel against the centrifugal forces, without any other fixation of the container. This means that the springs used must be powerful enough, which leads to a relatively fast wear of the elements providing the free rotation of the two jaws and of the elements of the container-feeding device and to occurrence of vibrations in the process of receiving the container by the gripping device connected with the weight measuring mechanism;
  • on the other hand, protective pipes and sleeves used with the existing device are supposed to have a required clearance to ensure the accurate operation of the weight measuring element. During the operation of the filling machines and in the process of their cleaning, it is possible that these clearances become congested by splashes of the product being filled in or by the washing liquid, which is a condition for inaccurate operation of the weight measuring element;
  • when operating with products that require a high level of filling hygiene, the so called microbiologically sensitive products, the automated cleaning of the device is obstructed by the numerous elements and clearances, which is a condition for contamination of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the invention is to create a filling and dosing device for containers with a cylindrical ringed neck with a simplified structure, which would ensure stability of containers during their filling and the rotation of the carousel, which would not affect the accuracy of the tensometric sensor and would allow the free permeation of washing liquids or part of the product being filled in into the device.

This task is solved by means of a container-filling and weight-related dosing device for containers with a cylindrical ringed neck, which consists of connected gripping device and weight measuring mechanism of a closed, air-tight type for weighing the containers during the process of filling. The gripping device consists of two jaws that move in a horizontal plane, mounted on a supporting console plate and connected with a spring so that in their front end the jaws form a circle for gripping the neck of the container.

According to the design of the invention, the spring is attached to the back ends of the two movable jaws of the gripping device, which are mounted onto the supporting plate so that they grip the cylindrical neck of the container above the ring during the filling operation. The rear end of the supporting plate is connected to the weighing mechanism, which is a closed type.

Between the middle sections of the two movable jaws is installed and attached to them a changeable fixing element, connected onto the supporting plate. A protrusion is formed at the front end of the changeable fixing element, allowing for part of the upper surface of the ring on the cylindrical neck of the container to be pressed.

A rounded area is formed at the front end of the supporting plate, supporting and pressing part of the lower surface of the ring on the cylindrical neck of the container.

According to a variation of the realization of the gripping device, the two movable jaws are mounted onto the supporting plate so that they grip the cylindrical neck of the container below the ring. With this solution the changeable fixing element is placed in a horizontal plane, parallel to and above the horizontal plane of the movable jaws so that the protrusion of the changeable fixing element presses part of the upper surface of the ring on the cylindrical neck of the container against the movable jaws.

The changeable fixing element, located between the two moveable jaws, is shaped so that the diameter of the circle thus formed by the two front parts of the movable jaws is smaller than the diameter of the neck of the container.

With one variation of the realization, the changeable fixing element constitutes a body, at the front end of which is shaped the protrusion allowing for part of the upper surface of the ring on the cylindrical neck of the container to be pressed.

With a second variation of the realization, the changeable fixing element comprises a bearing body mounted to the supporting plate, with the fixing element being attached to the bearing body by means of a swivel joint under spring pressure. At the front end of the fixing element is shaped the protrusion allowing for part of the upper surface of the ring on the cylindrical neck of the container to be pressed.

The proposed device has a simplified structure, allowing the tensometric sensor to function with the required accuracy. This structure provides stability of containers on the three perpendicular axes—X, Y and Z during the process of filling and carousel rotation. Furthermore, the structure of the device provides a high level of cleanness, allowing it to be washed without affecting the operation of the tensometric sensor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES ATTACHED

The attached figures show a model of the invention where:

FIG. 1 shows a carousel type filling installation, including a rotating platform with a filling system. A number of filling and weight-related dosing devices for containers with a cylindrical neck are mounted onto the platform;

FIG. 2 presents a side view with a partial cross section of the first variation of the gripping device of the filling and weight-related dosing device for containers with a cylindrical neck;

FIG. 3 presents a view from above of the variation in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 presents a cross section of the gripping device in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 presents a side view with a partial cross section of the second variation of the filling and weight-related dosing device for containers with a cylindrical neck;

FIG. 6 presents a variation of the realization of the fixing element.

EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In compliance with the figures, the installation described above is of the carousel type and it includes a rotating platform 1 of the type which is well known in practice, with a typical filling system with filling nozzles 2 and a weighing mechanism 3—FIG. 1. Containers 4 with a cylindrical neck 5 are supported in a vertical position under filling nozzles 2—FIG. 2.

The filling and weight-related dosing device for containers 4 with a cylindrical neck 5 and a ring 6 around the cylindrical neck 5 consists of connected gripping device 7 and drawing mechanism 3 for containers 4 during the process of filling—FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The gripping device 7 consists of two jaws 8, movable in a horizontal plane. Jaws 8 are mounted onto the supporting plate 10 by means of bolts 9. Bolts 9 also act as axes of rotation of the movable jaws 8 in a horizontal plane. The rear parts of the movable jaws 8 are connected by means of an elastic element—in this case spring 11. At their front end the movable jaws 8 form a circle for gripping the neck 5 of the container 4.

The rear end of the supporting plate 10 is mechanically connected to the drawing mechanism 3 for the containers 4 by means of fixing elements 12.

Between the middle sections of the two movable jaws 8 is installed and attached to them by means of a bolt connection a changeable fixing element 13, connected onto the supporting plate 10 in a fixed position. A protrusion 14 is formed at the front end of the fixing element 13, allowing for part of the upper surface of the ring 6 on the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4 to be pressed.

A rounded area 15 is also formed at the front end of the supporting plate 10, supporting and pressing part of the lower surface of the ring 6 on the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4.

As was already mentioned above, the movable jaws 8 form a circle at the front end for gripping the neck 5 of the container 4. The diameter of the circle thus formed by the two front parts of the movable jaws 8 is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4.

The drawing mechanism 3 is a solid body with integrated air-tight weight measuring element (tensometric sensor) and processor, monitoring container filling and weighing. The drawing mechanism 3 is connected to the control panel of the machine by means of cables 16—FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows a variation realization of the gripping device 7, where the movable jaws 8 grip the cylindrical neck 5 under the ring 6. With this variation solution, the protrusion 14 of the fixing element 13 presses part of the upper surface of the ring 6.

FIG. 6 shows a variation realization of the fixing element 13, which can be used in any of the two cases described above, but it is preferable for containers 4 whose cylindrical rings are hollow, elastic and have thin walls of uneven thickness. This fixing element 13 comprises bearing body 17 mounted to the supporting plate 10. A fixing tip 18 is mounted to the bearing body 17 by means of universal joint 19. The fixing tip 18 is kept pressed to the supporting plate 10 by a cylindrical spring 20. The cylindrical spring 20 is mounted around axle 21 going through opening 22, made in the fixing tip 18. The opening 22 allows the vertical movement of fixing tip 18.

The principle of operation of the device is the following: When the container 4 is fed to the jaws 8 by the feeding device, which is not included in the attached figures, the side surface of the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4 touches the inner ends of the movable jaws 8 and pushes them apart, overcoming the force of the spring 11. After the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4 has entered the opening formed between the two movable jaws 8, the latter center the container 4 so that the ring 6 is located between the protrusion 14 of the fixing element 13 and the rounded area 15 of the supporting plate 10. In this way, when the carousel rotates during the process of filling and weighing, the container 4 is fixed in a stable position on the three perpendicular planes with axes—X, Y and Z. This is a particularly important condition for the accurate operation of the weighing mechanism 3 and the high output rate of the entire installation.

With the second variation realization, as shown in FIG. 5, the movable jaws 8 of the gripping device 7 grip the cylindrical neck 5 of the container 4 under the ring 6. When the container 4 is fixed, the protrusion 14 of the changeable fixing element 13 presses part of the upper surface of the ring 6 to the movable jaws 8.

With the variation solution of the changeable fixing element 13, as shown in FIG. 6, appropriate for use with containers whose cylindrical rings are hollow, elastic and have thin walls of uneven thickness, when the container is delivered from the feeding device to the gripping device 7, the ring 6 overcomes the force of the cylindrical spring 20 by lifting the fixing tip 18. During this operation the ring 6 on the cylindrical neck 5 is positioned between the fixing element 18 and the supporting plate 10, which is effected by the force of the cylindrical spring 20.

Claims

1. Container filling and weight-related dosing device for containers with cylindrical neck and ring around the neck, consisting of connected gripping device and mechanism for container drawing during the process of container filling, where the gripping device comprises two jaws moving in a horizontal plane, mounted on the supporting plate and connected between by means of a spring, which jaws form a round opening at their front end for gripping the neck of the container, which device is characterized by the fact that the spring (11) of the gripping device (7) is concurrently connected to the rear ends of both movable jaws (8), which are mounted onto the supporting plate (10) so that they grip the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4) above the ring (6), and the rear end of the supporting plate (10) is connected to the drawing mechanism (3), which is closed, air-tight type, and a changeable fixing element (13) is mounted between the middle parts of the two movable jaws (8), touching them, connected onto the supporting plate (10), which fixing element has a protrusion (14) formed at its front end, allowing part of the upper surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4) to be pressed, and the supporting plate (10) has a round area (15) shaped, supporting and pressing part of the lower surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4).

2. A device, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the two movable jaws (8) of the gripping device (7) are mounted onto the supporting plate (10) so that they grip the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4) under the ring (6), and the changeable fixing element (13) is positioned in a horizontal plane, parallel to and above the horizontal plane of the movable jaws (8) so that the protrusion (14) of the changeable fixing element (13) presses part of the upper surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) against the movable jaws (8).

3. A device, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by the fact that the changeable fixing element (13), positioned between the two movable jaws (8), is shaped so that the diameter of the circle formed by the front ends of the movable jaws (8) is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4).

4. A device, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by the fact that the changeable fixing element (13) constitutes a body which has a protrusion (14) shaped at its front end, allowing part of the upper surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4) to be pressed.

5. A device, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by the fact that the changeable fixing element (13) consists of a bearing body (17) mounted to the supporting plate (10), with the fixing element (18) being attached to the bearing body (17) by means of a swivel joint under spring pressure, at the front end of which is shaped the protrusion (14) allowing for part of the upper surface of the ring (6) on the cylindrical neck (5) of the container (4) to be pressed.