A filling method includes storing liquid in a liquid tank; pressing a seal member of a filling head against a mouth of a vessel to seal the mouth; providing a liquid valve in a liquid passageway which connects an inside of the liquid tank to the vessel via the filling head; providing a gas valve in a gas passageway connecting a headspace of the liquid tank to the vessel via the filling head; providing a snifting valve in a snifting passage which connects the vessel to an outside via the filling head; detecting an amount of the liquid supplied to the vessel; and when the liquid is a non-fizzy liquid, opening the liquid valve to supply the liquid to the vessel while a compressor pressurizes the inside of the liquid tank, the gas valve is closed, the snifting valve is opened, and the mouth of the vessel is sealed.

A filling machine configured to fill containers with a pourable product having a conveyor configured to receive containers to be filled at an input station, and a plurality of filling devices carried by the conveyor and each configured to fill one container at a time with a predetermined amount of pourable product during its advancement along the filling path. Each filling device includes a filling valve controllable between an open position and a closed position. The machine also includes a control unit configured to generate a signal for triggering the opening of the filling valves and to sequentially send said signal to each filling device. Each filling device is configured to receive one container at a time at the input station, and the control unit is configured to send the signal to each filling device with an advance time before the filling device receives the container to be filled.

A container filling valve may include a shuttle and a drive sleeve that are magnetically coupled. Movement of the drive sleeve may move the shuttle from a position in which the filling valve is closed to a position in which the filling valve is open. A container handling arm may include a distal end configured to hold a container and a proximal end that includes a load cell. A low flow setpoint system may be configured to arrest closing of a filling valve when that filling valve is partially closed. A pressure control system may be configured to maintain a desired pressure in a reservoir or in a flow path from that reservoir. A product recirculation system may be configured to adjust flow rate in the product recirculation system.

A plastic container comprises an upper portion including a finish defining an opening into the container, a lower portion including a base defining a standing surface, a sidewall extending between the upper portion and the lower portion, the sidewall defining a longitudinal axis, and at least one substantially transversely-oriented pressure panel located in the lower portion. The pressure panel is movable between an outwardly-inclined position and an inwardly-inclined position to compensate for a change of pressure inside the container. The standing surface defines a standing plane, and the entire pressure panel is located between the standing plane and the upper portion of the container when the pressure panel is in the outwardly-inclined position.

A system for manufacturing a filled plastic container includes an actuator, a base unit including a heating surface, and a dispensing device or nozzle. The actuator includes a body portion and a holding/securing member configured to hold or secure a portion of the container. In embodiments, the actuator is configured to apply a force or pressure on the container to contact the base unit, the base unit is configured to receive a base portion of the container, the heating surface is configured to convey energy or heat to a portion of the base portion of the container, and the dispensing device or nozzle is configured to introduce an inert gas into the container. Methods for providing a filled plastic container and providing a thin-walled plastic container are also disclosed.

A plastic container comprises an upper portion including a finish defining an opening into the container, a lower portion including a base defining a standing surface, a sidewall extending between the upper portion and the lower portion, the sidewall defining a longitudinal axis, and at least one substantially transversely-oriented pressure panel located in the lower portion. The pressure panel is movable between an outwardly-inclined position and an inwardly-inclined position to compensate for a change of pressure inside the container. The standing surface defines a standing plane, and the entire pressure panel is located between the standing plane and the upper portion of the container when the pressure panel is in the outwardly-inclined position.

A method is described for shaping the bottom of hot-filled containers, in which the bottoms of the containers are forced inwardly from a state bulged outwardly, in particular as they cool down. Complex mechanisms for forcing the bottom inwardly are dispensable for the reason that the bottoms are forced inwardly by at least one fluid jet and/or fluid pressure wave. In addition, shaping the bottom can advantageously be carried out in a production region immediately downstream of a closer.

A filling station for filling containers includes a number of container holders defining respective container positions; a number of filling assemblies, each filling assembly being associated with a container holder, where each filling assembly includes a reciprocating nozzle assembly which makes a first reciprocating movement from a retracted nozzle position in which a nozzle is retracted from the container to an inserted nozzle position in which the nozzle is inserted into the container, where the nozzle moves through an opening in a lid member of a reciprocating lid assembly to be inserted into the container for filling the container with liquid; where the reciprocating lid assembly makes a second reciprocating movement towards a filling opening of the container in the container holder and back in a direction away from the filling opening, where the reciprocating lid assembly is under pretension in the direction of the container holder.

A filling station for filling containers includes a number of container holders defining respective container positions; a number of filling assemblies, each filling assembly being associated with a container holder, where each filling assembly includes a reciprocating nozzle assembly which makes a first reciprocating movement from a retracted nozzle position in which a nozzle is retracted from the container to an inserted nozzle position in which the nozzle is inserted into the container, where the nozzle moves through an opening in a lid member of a reciprocating lid assembly to be inserted into the container for filling the container with liquid; where the reciprocating lid assembly makes a second reciprocating movement towards a filling opening of the container in the container holder and back in a direction away from the filling opening, where the reciprocating lid assembly is under pretension in the direction of the container holder.

The present invention relates to a packaging method for packaging a pourable product in at least one container, by means of which it is obtained an improvement in the flexibility of the packaging machine configured for carrying out the method with regards to the type of the product which is to be packaged, and to a machine configured for carrying out the method.