Closure device for adding gas to and closing containers that have a filler opening

Abstract

The invention relates to a closing device for closing containers which have a filling opening, such as bottles or cans, comprising a positioning apparatus for arrangement of a container to be closed into a position for closing, a flushing apparatus with a nozzle device for blowing in flushing gas, in particular inert gas, into a container to be closed though its filling opening prior to closure, a closing element setting apparatus for attachment of a closing element to a container to be closed in a position which closes its filling opening and thus the container and a control apparatus.

Claims

1. Closing device for closing containers which have a filling opening, the closing device comprising: a positioning apparatus configured to arrange a container in a closing position, a flushing apparatus with a nozzle device configured to blow flushing gas into the container through the filling opening of the container prior to closure and while the container is positioned in the closing position, a closing element setting apparatus configured to attach a closing element into the filling opening of the container while the container is positioned in the closing position, and a control apparatus, wherein the nozzle device has a central nozzle arrangement and a peripheral nozzle arrangement surrounding the central nozzle arrangement, wherein the nozzle device is movable relative to the container positioned in the closing position in a movement between a flushing position and a retracted position, wherein, in the flushing position of the nozzle device, the central nozzle arrangement is aligned at least primarily with the filling opening of the container for the introduction of flushing gas into the container and the peripheral nozzle arrangement aims at a peripheral region of the filling opening so that both the filling opening and a periphery of the filling opening are exposed to a flushing gas flow when the nozzle device outputs the flushing gas, and wherein the control apparatus is configured to control the movement of the nozzle device and a movement a closing element holder of the closing element setting apparatus relative to the container while the contained is positioned in the closing position, and wherein the movement of the nozzle device and the movement of the closing element holder at least partially overlap in time.

2. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised in that the central nozzle arrangement and the peripheral nozzle arrangement are each formed as a tube element, wherein the tube element which forms the central nozzle arrangement is received in particular concentrically in the tube element which forms the peripheral nozzle arrangement.

3. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised in that the nozzle device is oriented in the flushing position obliquely with respect to the filling opening of the container positioned in the closing position.

4. Closing device according to claim 3, characterised in that the nozzle device is chamfered at its flushing gas outlet end relative to a tube element longitudinal axis, so that the flushing gas outlet end lies in the flushing position of the nozzle device at least approximately in a plane which extends parallel to an upper edge of the filling opening of a respective the container positioned in the closing position.

5. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised in that the nozzle device is pivotable in a horizontal plane between the retracted position and the flushing position.

6. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised by an additional nozzle device with at least one flushing nozzle configured to output additional flushing gas in the direction of the closing element holder of the closing element setting apparatus so that the flushing nozzle can blow the flushing gas onto the closing element.

7. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised in that a flushing gas flow output by the central nozzle arrangement and a flushing gas flow output by the peripheral nozzle arrangement can be controlled separately from one another.

8. Closing device according to claim 1, characterised in that the positioning apparatus is formed for arrangement of one or more containers to be closed into the closing position, that the closing element setting apparatus is formed to attach one or more closing elements to corresponding one or more containers positioned in the closing position, and that the nozzle device of the flushing apparatus is provided one or more times.

9. Closing device according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the closing element holder comprises a vertical movement, and wherein the closing element setting apparatus comprises a plunger as the closing element holder that is movable relative to the container positioned in the closing position in the vertical movement between a retracted passive position in which the closing element is held by the closing element holder so that it is aligned with and positioned above the filling opening of the container and an advanced closing element output position in which the closing element holder pushes the closing element into the filling opening of the container in order to close the filling opening.

10. Closing device according to claim 9, wherein the movement of the nozzle device comprises a horizontal movement, and wherein the control apparatus is configured to control the horizontal movement of the nozzle device and the vertical movement of the closing element holder by at least: positioning, in the flushing position of the nozzle device, a flushing gas output end of the nozzle device below the closing element holder in its retracted passive position, retracting the closing element holder from the advanced closing element output position when the nozzle device approaches the flushing position, so that, when the nozzle device has reached the flushing position, the closing element holder has left the advanced closing element output position, and performing the vertical movement of the closing element holder out of the retracted passive position into the advanced closing element output position and the horizontal movement of the nozzle device out of the flushing position into the retracted position at least partly in a simultaneous manner while the container remains in the closing position during flushing and closing of the container.

11. A method comprising: positioning a container in a closing position of a positioning apparatus; blowing, by at least using a nozzle device of a flushing apparatus and while the container is positioned in the closing position, flushing gas into the container through a filling opening of the container, wherein using the nozzle device comprises: moving the nozzle device relative to the container in a movement between a retracted position and a flushing position, and aligning, when the nozzle device is in the flushing position, a central nozzle arrangement of the nozzle device at least primarily with the filling opening of the container and positioning, when the nozzle device is in the flushing position, a peripheral nozzle arrangement of the nozzle device so that the peripheral nozzle arrangement aims at a peripheral region of the filling opening; and attaching, by at least using a closing element setting apparatus and while the container is positioned in the closing position, a closing element into the filling opening of the container, wherein using the closing element setting apparatus comprises a movement of a closing element holder of the closing element setting apparatus relative to the container, wherein the movement of the nozzle device and the movement of the closing element holder at least partially overlap in time.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, upon execution on a system, cause the system to perform operations comprising: positioning a container in a closing position of a positioning apparatus; blowing, by at least using a nozzle device of a flushing apparatus and while the container is positioned in the closing position, flushing gas into the container through a filling opening of the container, wherein using the nozzle device comprises: moving the nozzle device relative to the container in a movement between a retracted position and a flushing position, and aligning, when the nozzle device is in the flushing position, a central nozzle arrangement of the nozzle device at least primarily with the filling opening of the container and positioning, when the nozzle device is in the flushing position, a peripheral nozzle arrangement of the nozzle device so that the peripheral nozzle arrangement aims at a peripheral region of the filling opening; and attaching, by at least using a closing element setting apparatus and while the container is positioned in the closing position, a closing element into the filling opening of the container, wherein using the closing element setting apparatus comprises a movement of a closing element holder of the closing element setting apparatus relative to the container, wherein the movement of the nozzle device and the movement of the closing element holder at least partially overlap in time.

Description

(1) An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the single FIGURE.

(2) The FIGURE shows a partially schematic, cut-out detailed sectional representation of a region of the closing device in which the flushing of a corresponding container with inert gas and the closing of the container take place.

(3) In the FIGURE, a flask 3 is apparent as a container, which flask is filled up to a headspace volume 5 with an oxygen-sensitive liquid pharmaceutical 7.

(4) Flask 3 is located in a positioning apparatus 9 of the closing device and has been introduced by means of this positioning apparatus 9 into the shown position for closing, wherein this position for closing also corresponds to the flushing position in which, for example, inert gas is introduced as flushing gas into headspace 5 of flask 3.

(5) A flushing apparatus 11, of which substantially a nozzle device 13 in its flushing position relative to flask 3 is apparent in the FIGURE, serves this purpose.

(6) Nozzle device 13 has as a central nozzle arrangement an inner cylindrical tube element 15 which, in the flushing position, is directed substantially at filling opening 18 of flask 3 in order to blow in the inert gas there.

(7) Nozzle device 13 further comprises as a peripheral nozzle arrangement a cylindrical tube element 17 which coaxially surrounds tube element 15 and which also serves to discharge inert gas. Inert gas can thus be blown out of intermediate space 19 between central tube element 15 and peripheral tube element 17 into the periphery of filling opening 18 of flask 3 in order to displace air and thus the atmospheric oxygen there, so that it is not sucked into filling opening 18 as a result of the sucking actions during the flushing process.

(8) According to a modified embodiment of the invention, tube element 17 and/or tube element 15 can be widened in a funnel-shaped manner at the output of nozzle device 13.

(9) Gas flow 20 of central tube element 15, which is directed at filling opening 18 of flask 3 and gas flow 22 delimited at the outside by peripheral tube element 17 can be controlled separately from one another in terms of their strength. Control is carried out by a control apparatus 24 which also controls the other functions of the closing device.

(10) As a result of the described process, during flushing of the flask, it was possible to reduce the residual oxygen content in headspace volume 5 of flask 3 to an extremely low value of <0.5%.

(11) An additional nozzle device 26 with at least one additional flushing nozzle 28 serves as a further measure to minimize the residual oxygen content in flask 3, which additional flushing nozzle 28 in the case of the example of inert gas is directed in the direction of a closing element provided for the subsequent closing process in the form of a stopper 30 so that the flushing gas reaches lower recess 32 of stopper 30 and can displace air there.

(12) Frame 34 of additional nozzle device 26 has such a structure that regions 5, 32 to be flushed are well screened from the entry of air towards the outside, when the flask 3 and nozzle device 13 are in the shown flushing position. In this manner, air is prevented from being able to subsequently flow from the outside in critical quantities to the flushed regions.

(13) Stopper 30 is located at the lower end of a push-in plunger 36 as a closing element holder of a closing element setting apparatus 38. In the FIGURE, push-in plunger 36 is shown in a retracted passive position from which it can be moved into an advanced closing element output position in order to push stopper 30 into filling opening 18 of flask 3. Before this can happen, however, nozzle device 13 must first be moved out of the path between shown stopper 30 and filling opening 18 of flask 3. This is performed very quickly after the flushing process in that the nozzle device is moved laterally using an at least approximately horizontal movement component to the right in the FIGURE by means of a corresponding drive device (not shown) into a retracted position. After or, where applicable, already during this retraction movement of nozzle device 13, a drive apparatus of closing element setting apparatus 38 moves push-in plunger 36 out of the retracted passive position shown in the FIGURE into an advanced closing element output position, in which it pushes stopper 30 into filling opening 18 of flask 3. Flask 3 is thereafter tightly closed and has an in any event extremely low residual oxygen content in its headspace 5.

(14) It should also be noted that nozzle device 13, in its flushing position, is oriented obliquely to the filling opening of flask 3 positioned in position for closing and to be flushed. It should furthermore be noted that nozzle device 13 is chamfered at its flushing gas outlet end relative to tube element longitudinal axis 42 so that flushing gas outlet end 40, in the flushing position of nozzle device 13, lies at least approximately in a plane which extends parallel to the upper edge of filling opening 18 of flask 3. These measures serve on one hand to improve the flushing effect of flask 3, on the other hand quicker movability of nozzle device 13 out of the spatial region between stopper 30 and filling opening 18.