DEVICE FOR FILLING AND CLOSING CONTAINERS

Abstract

A multi-purpose container-handler includes a carrier for receiving and carrying the container, a handling station extending along a vertical axis, and a filling-and-closing member arranged on the handling station, connected to a filling product supply and a closure supply, and configured to both fill and close the container at the handling station. The filling-and-closing member comprises a filling valve and a mating holder, both of which are above the carrier. The carrier and the mating holder carry out controlled vertical movement relative to one another to cause the carrier and the mating holder to transition between a starting position, a filling position, and a closing position. The mating holder and the carrier are configured such that either mating holder or carrier generates a controlled force, which is either being a closing force directed vertically downward or a holding force directed vertically upwards.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. An apparatus for both filling and closing a container, said apparatus comprising a multi-purpose container-handler comprising a carrier for receiving and carrying said container, a handling station that extends along a vertical axis, and a filling-and-closing member arranged on said handling station, said filling-and-closing member being connected to a filling product supply and a closure supply and being configured to both fill and close said container at said handling station, wherein said filling-and-closing member comprises a filling valve and a mating holder, both of which are above said carrier, wherein said carrier and said mating holder are configured to carry out controlled vertical movement relative to one another to cause said carrier and said mating holder to transition between a starting position, a filling position and a closing position, and wherein either said carrier generates a controlled holding force directed vertically upward or said mating holder generates a controlled closing force directed vertically downward.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said carrier comprises a lift that moves a container vertically from a first plane to a second plane, wherein said first and second planes are selected from the group consisting of a supply plane, a filling plane, and a closing plane, wherein said filling plane is between said supply plane and said closing plane, and wherein said closing plane is higher than said supply plane.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said lift is pneumatically controlled.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said lift is mechanically controlled.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said lift is electrically controlled.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a linear drive that drives said lift.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said mating holder is configured for movement along said vertical axis.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said filling-and-closing member comprises a chamber that receives said container's mouth and a closure located in contact at a contact surface of said mating holder.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said chamber comprises a process chamber.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said chamber comprises a pressure chamber.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising seals for sealing said chamber, wherein said seals move upward with a neck of said container as said container is being brought into a sealing position, thereby sealing said chamber and said container.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein, as a result of controlled movement relative to each other, said carrier and said mating holder are further configured to adopt a sealing position, wherein, in said sealing position, said sealing location is established of said sealing elements with said container neck.

27. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said filling-and-closing member further comprises a drawing-ring arrangement that comprises a drawing ring for causing plastic deformation of said closures and wherein said closures are crown corks.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said drawing ring of said drawing ring arrangement is configured for movement along said vertical axis.

29. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a carousel and a motor that rotates said carousel around a middle axis thereof, where said handling station is one of a plurality of handling stations, all of which are disposed on a circumference of said carousel, wherein said carousel comprises an upper part, a lower part, wherein said filling-and-closing member is mounted on said upper part, wherein said lower part comprises a carrier rim, and wherein said carrier is one of a plurality of carriers provided at said carrier rim.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a height adjuster that is configured adjust a distance between said upper part and said lower part.

31. A method comprising filling and closing a container at a handling station of a multi-purpose container handler, said method comprising at said handling station, bringing said container into a filling position, filling said container, bringing said container into a closing position, and closing said container with a closure, wherein bringing said container into said filling position and into said closing position comprises causing controlled relative movement of a carrier and a mating holder provided in a filling-and-closing element of said handling station, said relative movement being along a vertical axis of said handling station, wherein bringing said container into said closing position comprises at least one of causing controlled exertion of a closing force by said mating holder and causing controlling exertion of a holding force by said carrier, and wherein said closing force is vertically downward and said holding force is vertically upward.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein causing controlled relative movement of said carrier comprises causing said carrier to lift said container from a supply plane into a filling plane above said supply plane and causing said carrier to lift said container from said filling plane to a closing plane that is higher than said filling plane.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein bringing said container into said closing position and bringing said container into said filling position comprise causing said mating holder to move in a controlled manner along a vertical axis of said handling station.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter on the basis of the figures, by a description of exemplary embodiments. The figures show:

[0042] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a multi-purpose container-handler;

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a handling station from the multi-purpose container-handler shown in FIG. 1 at different handling positions;

[0044] FIG. 3 is an alternative embodiment of the multi-purpose container-handler shown in FIG. 1;

[0045] FIG. 4 shows different handling positions of a handling station in the multi-purpose container-handler shown in FIG. 3;

[0046] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the multi-purpose container-handler shown in FIG. 1;

[0047] FIG. 6 shows different stages in the handling of a container using the multi-purpose container-handler shown in FIG. 5;

[0048] FIG. 7 shows a mechanism used in a handling station for moving a container and applying forces to it; and

[0049] FIG. 8 shows a filling-and-closing member used in the devices shown in the preceding figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a multi-purpose container-handler 1 that both fills and closes containers 2. The illustrated multi-purpose container-handler 1 is a rotating machine having handling stations 5, 5′ arranged around a vertical machine axis MA. Each handling station 5, 5′ extends along a vertical axis VA. The handling stations 5, 5′ are disposed along a circumference of a carousel 9. The carousel 9 includes an upper part 9.1 and a lower part 9.2 that is arranged vertically beneath the upper part 9.1. A motor rotates the carousel 9. Although only two handling stations 5, 5′ are shown, it is understood that there are many other.

[0051] A filling-and-closing member 4 is mounted on the upper part 9.1 The filling-and-closing member 4 extends along the vertical axis VA of a corresponding handling station 5, 5′.

[0052] The lower part 9.2 comprises a carrier rim 8. Carriers 3 along the carrier rim's circumference receive and carry containers 2. Each carrier 3 is assigned to a corresponding handling station 5, 5′. Each carrier 3 has a controlled or regulated drive. This drive is preferably a linear drive. A container 2 that is to be handled at a handling station 5, 5′ stands on the carrier 3 associated with that handling station 5, S′.

[0053] The multi-purpose container-handler 1 both fills containers with liquid filling-product and closes them with a closure 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the closure 6 is a crown cork.

[0054] The multi-purpose container-handler 1 lies downstream of a container-feeding machine and any other machines that carry out preceding container-handling steps. Examples of such machines are those that clean, sterilize, or inspect containers 2. Transport devices, such as transport belts, transport the containers 2 to the multi-purpose container-handler 1. A transfer element 13, such as an inlet star, transfers the containers into the multi-purpose container-handler 1. After having been filled and closed by the multi-purpose container-handler 1, containers 2 are passed along downstream by a transfer element, such as an outlet star.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 3, each filling-and-closing member 4 is connected to a closure supply 15 that supplies closures 6. Each filling-and-closing member 4 is also connected to a supply of liquid filling-material. However, this connection has been omitted for clarity.

[0056] The carousel 9 rotates on a base 12 about a central column 14 that extends vertically along the machine axis MA. The base 12 comprises a foot 12.1 connected to a machine foundation 12.2 that is mounted on a substrate. A height adjuster 7 arranged on the column 14 provides a way to move the upper part 9.1 and the lower part 9.2 relative to each other along the machine axis MA. This permits adjustment of the multi-purpose container-handler 1 for different container formats having different container heights. In addition, the carousel 9 can be adjusted to different heights.

[0057] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, each filling-and-closing member 4 has a filling valve 4.1. Each filling-and-closing member 4 also has a mating holder 5 arranged above the container 2. During the closing of a container 2, the mating holder 5 carries out the function of a closing stamp. The filling valve 4.1 and the mating holder 5 are integrated into the filling-and-closing member 4 to form a combined tool. The carrier 3 and the mating holder 5 are configured so as to carry out controlled movement relative to one another along the handling station's vertical axis VA.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 2, as a result of this controlled movement, the carrier 3 and the mating holder 5 start from a starting position P0 and assume further positions relative to each other. These include a filling position PF and a closing position PV. In FIG. 1, the starting position P0 is shown at the first handling station 5 and the closing position is shown in the second handling station 5′. The filling position PF can be seen in FIG. 4. As a result, the multi-purpose container-handler 1 both fills and closes containers 2 at the handling station 5, 5′. FIGS. 2, 4, and 6 show different positions which the carrier 3 and mating holder 5 adopt relative to one another due to the controlled relative movement that occurs when filing and closing a container 2.

[0059] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrier 3 lowers and lifts a container along the vertical axis in a controlled manner. As a result, the carrier 3 approaches the mating holder 5. In doing so, the carrier 3 starts at the starting position P0 at a supply plane E1 and rises to a sealing position PD at a sealing plane E1.1. It then rises to a filling position PF at a filling plane E2 and on to a closing position PV at a closing plane E3. The carrier 3 is then lowered back to the starting position P0 relative to the mating holder 5.

[0060] To adopt the sealing position PD, the container's mouth 2.1 is moved into the filling-and-closing member 4 from below at the free end side. The filling-and-closing member 4 comprises a centering-and-sealing arrangement 16 to receive the container 2. In the example from FIGS. 1 and 2, the centering-and-sealing arrangement 16 comprises a movable bottle-centering arrangement and a sliding seat.

[0061] Referring now to FIG. 8, the filing-and-closing member 4 features a chamber 17 formed therein. The chamber 17 is a process chamber or a pressure chamber. During the filling-and-closing process, the container mouth 2.1, the closure 6, and an underside of the mating holder 5 are all within the chamber 17. The sealing plane E1.1 is thus high enough so that the container 2 moves into the container centering-and-sealing arrangement 16 until the chamber 17 receives the container's mouth 2.1. In the process, corresponding seals 18 move with the container's neck 2.2 into the sealing position. This seals the chamber 17. Since the mouth 2.1 is already inside the chamber 17, this also seals the container 2.

[0062] To reach the filling position, the carrier 3 moves further upward in the vertical direction, thus raising the container 2 up to the filling plane E2. This results in a seal between the container's mouth 2.1 and a dispensing opening of the filling valve 4.1. In this position, the container is filled. Once the container has been filled, the seal can be broken. This marks a transition between the filling-and-closing member's filling function and its closing function.

[0063] The closing function begins with positioning a closure 6 above the mouth 2.1 so that an upper side of the closure 6 contacts the underside of the mating holder 5. The carrier 3 raises the container 2 still further into the closing position PV, shown in FIG. 2, up to the closing plane E3. This presses the container's mouth 2.1 against the closure 6 at a predetermined pressure, which in turn indirectly applies that force to the mating holder 5. The carrier 3 thus exerts an upward pressing force that presses against the closure 5 and the mating holder 5. The mating holder 5 therefore exerts an equal reaction force downward.

[0064] Referring now to FIG. 7, in a preferred embodiment, a spring biases the mating holder 5 so that as the carrier 3 rises, the mating holder 5 yields and moves upward. This allows a drawing ring 11.1 of a drawing ring arrangement 11.1 to apply a radially-inward force on the closure 6. The resulting force causes plastic deformation of the closure 6, thereby sealing the container. This concludes the closing process.

[0065] The carrier 3 executes a controlled pivot and lowers the now-closed container 2, thus releasing the mouth 2.1 from the chamber 17. The carrier 3 lowers the container 2 back to the supply plane E1 from which a downstream transfer element, such as an outlet star can remove the container.

[0066] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the centering-and-sealing element 16 includes a movable container-centering device such as a folding bellows. The remaining structures and operation are the same as those described in connection with FIG. 1.

[0067] FIGS. 5 and 6 show an alternative embodiment in which the mating holder 5 moves up and down. Each filling-and-closing member 4 includes a centering-and-sealing arrangement 16 that is configured to center the container. The centering-and-sealing arrangement 16 features an elastic protection element such as a folding bellows. A linear drive 10′ provides controlled movement of each mating holder 5.

[0068] The mating holder 5, being integral with the filling-and-closing member 5, cannot be seen as it moves along the vertical axis VA. However, the different relative positions of the lower end of the filling-and-closing member 4 can be seen.

[0069] In this embodiment, the mating holder 5 approaches the carrier 4. As shown in FIG. 6, the mating holder 5 begins at a starting position P0 at starting height H1 and moves down to an intermediate position PD1 at an intermediate height H1.1 at which it closely approaches the container 2. At this point, the container 2 is not yet sealed. Then, it moves further down to the filling height H2 to attain a filling position PF. The holder 5 moves further down to the closing plane H3 to attain the closing position PV. The holder 5 then moves back up to attain its starting position P0 at the starting plane H1.

[0070] In the preceding embodiments, only one of the carrier 3 and the mating holder 5 carries out vertical motion. However, in some embodiments, both carry out vertical motion. Ultimately, it is not which element does the moving that matters but the relative motion of the elements.

[0071] Schematically represented once again in FIG. 7 is the interaction or effect mechanism respectively between the carrier 3 and mating holder 5. Due to the controlled relative movement to one another (indicated in FIG. 7 by the broken line double arrow) of the carrier 3 and of the mating holder 5, the distance interval between the carrier 3 and the mating holder 5 can be changed in a controlled manner. The container 2 which is to be filled and closed is arranged between the carrier 3 and the mating holder 5, wherein at least the position of the mating holder 5 changes during the performance of the different sequential function steps “Sealing”, “Filling”, and “Closing”, also in relation to the container 2. Due to the controlled relative movement, particularly advantageously, both the sealing position of the container mouth 2.1 with the filling valve 4.1 is established during the filling process, as well as the pressing pressure for the closure 6 during the closing process, wherein the container 2, in the closing position, with the closure 6 positioned on the container mouth 2.1, is tensioned between the carrier 3 and mating holder 5, and the mating holder 5 transfers or exerts a closing force Fy taking effect from above onto the closure 6, and therefore also onto the container 2. The container 2 is held by the carrier 3 with a holding force Fy′, directed upwards and counteracting the closing force Fy, wherein the closing force Fy and the holding force Fy′ in interaction cause the pressing of the closure 6 onto the container mouth 2.1, and the subsequent tight closing of the container 2.

[0072] As can be seen from FIG. 7, the carrier 3 and/or mating holder 5 can undergo lifting and lowering movement and can therefore cover a movement path along the vertical axis VA. The carrier 3 and/or mating holder 5 further produce a holding force Fy′ oriented upward along the vertical axis VA and a closing force Fy oriented in the opposite direction.

[0073] The plastic deformation of the closure's edge takes place by an at least partial drawing of the closure 6 through the drawing ring 11.1 of the drawing ring arrangement 11. In some embodiments, the drawing ring 11.1 is fixed and the container moves upwards relative to the drawing ring 11.1. In other embodiments, the drawing ring 11.1 moves along the vertical axis VA relative to the closure 6 or to the container, respectively. The possible movement of the drawing ring 11.1 is indicated in FIG. 7 by the double arrow with the continuous line.

[0074] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of a filling-and-closing member 4 in which a container 2 is moved from the free-end side of the filling-and-closing member 4 in such a way that the container mouth 2.1 is arranged inside the chamber 17 and remains there during the entire filling-and-closing process. A regulated and/or controlled slide element 19 establishes the corresponding sealing position of the container mouth 2.1 with the filling valve's dispensing opening for the filling process. During the closing process the mating holder 5 contacts the closure 6, which is positioned on the container mouth 2.1.

[0075] Other embodiments of the filling-and-closing member 4 are possible. By way of example, in some embodiments, slide elements position the closures 6.