Filling machine and method for filling a pasty mass, in particular for the production of sausages

Abstract

A filling machine and a method for filling a pasty mass, in particular for the production of sausages, with a delivery pump for conveying the pasty mass with a first drive, and a dosing pump that is coupled to an outlet of the delivery pump and a transmission train via which the dosing pump is coupled to a second drive integrated into the filling machine housing.

Claims

1. A filling machine for filling a pasty mass, comprising: a delivery pump for conveying the pasty mass with a first drive, a dosing pump coupled to an outlet of said delivery pump, said dosing pump being configured as an exchangeable component, and on an inlet side and an outlet side thereof, comprises connection regions via which said dosing pump can, on the inlet side, be connected to the outlet end of said delivery pump, and on the outlet side be connected with accessories and/or auxiliary devices, and a drive train via which said dosing pump is coupled to a second drive integrated into said filling machine.

2. The filling machine according to claim 1, and a device for detecting whether a dosing pump is coupled and/or is to be driven by said second drive, said device comprising one of a sensor which detects whether said dosing pump is installed, a manual input device, a product memory in which it is stored for different products to be produced whether said dosing pump is to be driven by said second drive, where this information can be passed to a machine controller, and a combination thereof.

3. The filling machine according to claim 1, and a machine controller which actuates said first drive or said first and second drives.

4. The filling machine according to claim 1, and said second drive is a drive which can be actuated by said machine controller for the use of auxiliary devices.

5. The device according to claim 4, and the auxiliary devices comprise an inline grinder, a twist-off unit, a clipper, and a length measuring unit.

6. The filling machine according to claim 1, and said delivery pump and said dosing pump are configured as rotary vane conveying units, the size of said dosing pump being smaller than the size of said rotary vane pump.

7. The filling machine according to claim 6, and the volume that can be delivered by said dosing pump for every revolution is smaller than the respective volume of said delivery pump.

8. The filling machine according to claim 1, and said dosing pump is configured such that the number of vane chambers and/or the volume of said vane chambers is variable.

9. The filling machine according to claim 8, and a rotor and/or the pump vanes are arranged to be exchangeable and/or spacer elements can be employed that reduce the volume of said vane chambers.

10. The filling machine according to claim 1, said first and second drives can be actuated such that a difference |p| between a first pressure p.sub.1 upstream of said dosing pump and a pressure p.sub.2 downstream of said dosing pump is in a defined range of |p|=0 to 5 bar, and a first pressure sensor being arranged in the conveying direction upstream of said dosing pump and a second pressure sensor being arranged in the conveying direction downstream of said dosing pump, the measured values being passed to said machine controller and said machine controller actuates said drives such that said pressure difference |p| between the pressures measured by said first and said second pressure sensors is within said defined range.

11. The filling machine according to claim 1, and said dosing pump is arranged outside the filling machine housing and said second drive within said filling machine housing and a coupling is arranged on said filling machine housing for coupling said transmission or drive train, respectively, to said second drive.

12. The filling machine according to claim 1, and the pasty mass comprises sausage material.

13. The filling machine according to claim 1, wherein said accessories and/or auxiliary devices comprise a stuffing tube, a support device, and a hanging line.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present disclosure shall be explained below in more detail with reference to the following figures.

(2) FIG. 1 very schematically shows a partially expanded top view of a filling machine according to the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 2 very schematically shows a cross-section through several different embodiments of a dosing pump according to the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 3 schematically shows a partially expanded perspective view of one embodiment of a dosing pump.

(5) FIG. 4 schematically shows a side view of a filling machine according to the disclosure.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a delivery pump according to the disclosure.

(7) FIG. 6 schematically shows a top view of a conveying mechanism with the cover removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) FIGS. 4 and 1 show a filling machine according to the present disclosure. A filling machine 1, in particular a vacuum filling machine, comprises a hopper 18 into which a pasty mass is filled, for example, by way of lifting carriage 25. The pasty mass is from the lower region of the hopper conveyed via a delivery pump 2, in particular a rotary vane pump, which shall be described in more detail below, to an outlet 6 of the filling machine, where a dosing pump 4 is coupled to outlet end 6a such that the pasty mass is transported onward from dosing pump 4 in the conveying direction F.

(9) Delivery pump 2 is advantageously a rotary vane pump with integrated drive 3, i.e. a drive motor.

(10) FIGS. 5 and 6 show a respective rotary vane pump 2 comprising a housing 26 and a pivotable cover 39, as well as an inlet 27 and an outlet 6 for the pasty mass. Inlet 27 is connected, for example, to the outlet of hopper 18 via which the pasty mass is fed to rotary vane pump 2. Inlet 27 is normally, for example, at outlet end 6a connected to a stuffing tube, presently not shown. Above-mentioned dosing pump 4 is there connected in place of the stuffing tube, where connection region 20 of dosing pump 4 is compatible to outlet end 6a of delivery pump 2. Delivery pump 2 comprises, for example, in pump housing (26) a preferably eccentrically disposed rotor 30 that can be set into rotation and is by first drive 3 driven via a pump shaft about axis A. Rotor 30 comprises radially displaceably mounted vanes 28 which with the inner wall, the base, and the cover of housing 26 form vane chambers or conveying cells, respectively. Rotor 30 is mounted e.g. eccentrically around a stationary clamping eccentric 10. By rotating the rotor or the vanes, respectively, pasty mass can in a known manner be conveyed in the conveying cells or vane chambers 29, respectively, from the inlet to the outlet. The rotary vane pump can be generally divided into several regions. One of these regions is suction region 31, another is pressure region 32, where a sealing region 33 separates pressure region 32 from suction region 31. Pressure region 32 begins in the rotational direction downstream of inlet 27 and extends up to outlet 6. Downstream of pressure region 32, which in the rotational direction of the rotor ends after outlet 6, sealing region 33 follows separating the pressure region from the suction region. Suction region 31 begins, e.g. at a point at which the gap-like spacing between the rotor and the inner wall of the pump housing increases such that the vane chambers again increase in size. Suction region 31 extends to the end of inlet 27. Pressures, e.g. from 0.005 to 1 bar prevail in the suction region. A vacuum opening can be formed in suction region 31 e.g. in the housing wall and be connected via a suction line to a vacuum pump. This region can be evacuated therewith. Pressure p.sub.1 at outlet region 6, i.e., upstream of dosing pump 4, is for example 20 to 40 bar. The size of the vane chambers varies depending on the position of the chamber and is, for example, in a size range from 10 to 50 cm.sup.3. As already explained, dosing pump 4 is at end 6a of the outlet coupled via the connection region.

(11) Dosing pump 4 is a dosing pump without an integrated drive and is designed as a portable dosing pump module that can be integrated in a simple manner.

(12) FIG. 3 shows a partially expanded dosing pump 4 in perspective view. The dosing pump is also designed as a rotary vane conveying unit and comprises a housing 22 and two connection regions 20, 21, presently e.g. in the form of hose tails. Rotatable rotor 10 is, as also described in connection with delivery pump 2, arranged in closed pump housing 22 in which several pump vanes 11 are mounted such that vanes 11 together with wall 34 of pump housing 22, base 35 of the housing, as well as the top side of housing 36, which can also be formed as an upwardly pivotable cover, form vanes 9. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, spacer elements 12, i.e., presently spacer rings, are arranged such that vanes 11 with wall 34 of the rotor inner surface and spacer rings 12 form vane chambers 9. For changing the pump volume and thereby the capacity, of the maximum size of the pieces of the product filling to be processed, etc., spacer elements such a spacer ring can be provided on the rotor outer diameter and/or at the pump base and/or at the pump cover etc. After removal of the spacer elements or a respective spacer ring, the pump chamber, i.e. the volume of the vane chambers 9 again increases in size.

(13) However, the volume of vane chambers 9 can not only be changed by appropriate spacer elements. Dosing pump 4 can preferably be configured such that the pump can be quickly adapted to the respective requirements e.g. by exchanging rotor 10 and pump vane 11. FIG. 2 shows dosing pump 4 with a respectively different number of vanes, such that also the vane chamber volume changes accordingly.

(14) Rotor 10 is in these embodiments formed centrally and the vane chambers preferably have the same size when viewing a revolution of 360. The pressure on the suction side p.sub.1 is there to be substantially the pressure p.sub.2 on the pressure side, i.e. substantially the same pressure is to prevail upstream of dosing pump 4 as downstream of the dosing pump, where a tolerance range from |p|=|p.sub.1p.sub.2|=0 to 5 bar is sufficient.

(15) Dosing pump 4 is in any event formed to be much smaller than delivery pump 2, such that the swallowing capacity of the dosing pump is substantially smaller than the swallowing capacity of delivery pump 2. The diameter of pump housing 22 is typically in a range from 100 to 200 mm. Height h of dosing pump 4 is, for example, in a range from 30 to 150 mm. The pasty mass entering dosing pump 4 via end region 20 is in vane chambers 9 by rotation of rotor 10 conveyed to end region 21, i.e. the outlet of the dosing pump. Rotor 10 is not driven by an integrated drive but by the transmission that is in the figures denoted with 5 and is with coupling 19, for example, e.g. a claw coupling, coupled to filling machine housing 17 such that dosing pump 4 can be driven by drive 7. Drive 7 is like drive 3, for example, an electric drive motor. Transmission train 5 can therefore in a simple manner with coupling 19 be coupled to machine housing 17 and a coupling at housing 22 of the dosing pump.

(16) Second drive 7 is an existing drive which can also be used for other auxiliary devices, such as an inline grinder, a twist-off unit, a clipper, a length measuring unit etc. Filling machine 1 can comprise a device for detecting whether dosing pump 4 is installed. For this purpose, for example, a sensornot illustratedcan be provided which responds when dosage pump 4 is installed and sends a corresponding signal to controller 8 of the filling machine. An input device can also in place of the device for detecting whether the dosing pump is attached be provided via which an operator enters that the dosing pump is attached or is to be driven by the second drive, respectively. The respective signals are then passed to controller 8. The information to the controller as to which auxiliary device is to be driven by the second drive can also be stored in a product memory for the different kinds of products to be produced and be retrieved by the controller.

(17) Controller 8 can then actuate drive 7 according to a specific program and according to specific parameters. When it is by the device detected that no dosing pump 4 is installed, then controller 8 does not drive drive 7 or drives it for the use of a different auxiliary device. Controller 8 controls both drive 3 as well as drive 7, and can therefore coordinate the functions of the two drives with each other. The two drives 3, 7 are actuated such that the pressure difference p between outlet 6 of the delivery pump and the outlet of dosing pump 4 is 5 bar. For this purpose, first pressure sensor 14 can be provided to measure pressure p.sub.1 prevailing in outlet 6 of dosing pump 2 or upstream of dosing pump 4, respectively, and pressure sensor 15 which is arranged downstream of dosing pump 4. Respective measured values are then passed to controller 8 which then can actuate the drives such that e.g. |p.sub.1p.sub.2|=0 to 5 bar. Sensor 14 must not necessarily be located at dosing pump 4, but can also be arranged upstream of outlet end 6a.

(18) If pressure sensors 14 and 15 are disposed directly on dosing pump 4, then the dosing pump also serves as a measuring cell.

(19) Volumetric flow rates due to high pressure differences p can thereby be prevented. The dosing pump is sized such that it withstands feed pressure p.sub.1 under all circumstances, e.g. even with the absence of counter pressure in the dosing pump (when starting the process, complete discharge, etc.).

(20) Delivery pump 2 is preferably pressure-regulated. This means, for example, that pressure p.sub.1 at the outlet of the delivery pump is regulated to a certain nominal value p.sub.1Soll. The actuator there is drive 3 which is driven with a respective torque.

(21) It is also possible, however, to regulate the volumetric flow rate or the volume delivered per unit time

(22) $\frac{v}{t}$
or a respective proportional value. Position control can be performed for a respective regulation in which the position of the vanes is controlled as a function of time. If a vane is at a particular time not in a particular location, then drive 3 is actuated accordingly by controller 8 such that a vane is at a particular time in a target position.

(23) Pressure control for delivery pump 2 is particularly advantageous.

(24) The dosing pump can also operate in a pressure-regulated manner such that pressure p.sub.2 is regulated to a nominal value p2=p2.sub.Soll. P2.sub.Soll is there in a range of p.sub.1p, where p is preferably 0 to 5 bar. Since p.sub.1 is set or regulated to be constant, p.sub.2 can be re-adjusted accordingly. However, the volumetric flow rate or a corresponding proportional value for dosing pump 4 is preferably regulated or position-controlled as described in connection with delivery pump 2. The temporal deviation from the nominal position of a vane is determined with position control as described above.

(25) Connection region 21 of the dosing pump is configured such that dosing pump 4 can be connected to other auxiliary devices, for example, to a stuffing tube, a support device, a hanging line, etc. The dosing pump can therefore in a simple manner be integrated into an existing product flow. The dosing pump, due to standardized interfaces, fits to all standard filling machines.

(26) In the method according to the disclosure, a dosing pump is first used, the vane chamber volume of which was adapted to the respective requirements, for example, by changing the total number of vane chambers or by inserting or removing spacer elements or spacer rings.

(27) In one possible embodiment, a device then detects whether a dosing pump is connected and sends a corresponding signal to machine controller 8.

(28) Pasty mass is fed from hopper 18 to delivery pump 2, which is actuated by controller 8 following a specific program, and delivers pasty mass in the delivery direction F to outlet 6 of delivery pump 2. Delivery pump 2 is operated at a specific capacity and in particular pressure-controlled, as described above, such that p.sub.1 is in a predetermined nominal range. Disposed at end 6a of outlet 6 is dosing pump 4. The pasty mass is then further conveyed by dosing pump 4 through vane chambers 9 in the delivery direction F toward the outlet of dosing pump 4. The controller controls drives 3 and 7 such that |p.sub.1p.sub.2|=|p|=0-5 bar. Pressure p.sub.1 and p.sub.2 can for this purpose be measured, for example, by sensors 14 and 15 and passed on to controller 8. It is advantageous if the dosing pump 4 is volume-controlled or position-controlled such that a predetermined volume per time can be discharged from dosing pump 4. Since the vane chambers of the dosing pump are much smaller than the vane chambers of delivery pump 2 and due to the fact that the differential pressure between p.sub.1 and p.sub.2 is much smaller than the differential pressure between the suction and the pressure side of dosing pump 2, the volume accuracy and thereby the portion accuracy of the portions to be produced can be increased substantially. This means that |p.sub.0p.sub.1>|p.sub.1p.sub.2| is true, where p.sub.0 is the pressure on the suction side of delivery pump 2, p.sub.1 is the pressure at the outlet of the delivery pump upstream of dosing pump 4, and pressure p.sub.2 is the pressure at the outlet of dosing pump 4. Formed at end region 21 of dosing pump 4 is then, for example, a stuffing tube. The stuffing tube can also be integrally connected to the dosing pump. The pasty mass can then, for example, be discharged into a sausage casing. The filled sausage casing can be divided into individual portions, for example, by a partition element, which engages in the filled sausage casing and displaced the pasty mass, and possibly also be separated Very precise weight accuracy can be obtained since the volumetric flow rate of the dosing pump is constant, the pressure difference p=p.sub.1p.sub.2 is very small, and the vane chambers have less volume.