Container filling machine

The invention concerns a container filling machine with a supply chamber for a fluid and a compressed gas, onto which at least one filling device is attached. This device possesses a discharge opening, a fluid valve, a compressed gas valve body arranged on its valve body and a probe which determines filling height held on this compressed gas valve body. It leads out of the lower end of the compressed valve body in a gastight arrangement. Hereby is a container filling machine achieved with higher filling accuracy, greater versatility, more cleanability and low production costs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention applies to a Container Filling Machine in accordance with the 
generic term in Claim 1. 
There is already a well-known Container Filling Machine of this type, in 
which the tension gas valve is positioned in the storage tank above the 
liquid level indicator and whose valve body displays a pipe-like 
downwardly-directed elongation piece, which passes through the middle of 
the discharge mouth and then projects outward. The probe has a 
controllable fastener in the valve body or in its elongation, 
respectively, thereby forming a circular area which is open towards the 
bottom, and whose upper end is set-up with a throttled drainage-pipe that 
projects outwards into open space for the return gas, which will be pushed 
out during the filling of the container (DE-OS 2 007 896). 
The filling device on this well-known Container Filling Machine displays a 
diversity of difficult-to-clean parts and of cavities filled with 
compressible gas padding, which causes disturbing hammer blows in the 
pipes during the filling process and especially during the discharging 
process. The manufacture of the filling device is costly and, due to the 
many structural pans which project out into the container, it can only 
fill those containers that have wide openings. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention's basic task is to noticeably improve on the type of 
Container Filling Machine mentioned above in the areas of precision 
filling, operative range, cleanability and construction costs. 
This task will be accomplished, in accordance with this invention, by the 
indicated features, as noted in Claim 1. 
The advantageous further-developments of the invention are contained in the 
subclaims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The following paragraphs describe a sample operation of the invention with 
reference to the diagram. The diagram portrays a vertical section of the 
Container Filling Machine in the area of the filling device whereby the 
liquid valve and the tension gas valve is depicted as closed on the left 
side and open on the right. 
The depicted Container Filling Machine is set up to fill bottles with a 
carbonated drink, beer for example, at a hyperbaric counter-pressure. It 
depicts a ring-like closed storage tank 2 with a basically rectangular 
cross section, the former of which revolves around its vertical central 
axis 3. The storage tank 2 is filled up to the level indicator with the 
drink and above that, with the gas in the form of a high percentage 
CO2-air mixture and with an excess pressure of three bar. The delivery of 
the drink and of the tension gas occurs in the typical fashion through 
radial piping, rotating distributors and control units, etc., which are 
not shown. 
A variety of identical filling devices 5 are uniformly distributed over the 
circumference of the storage tank 2, from which each is allocated a 
controllable lifting device 6 for the bottles 1 as well as a controllable 
centering bell 7 for the bottle opening. 
Each filling device 5 displays a valve block 8 attached to the underside of 
the storage tank 2, where a vertical, cylindrical drainage opening 9 has 
been formed for the liquid. The drainage opening 9 passes upwards over a 
conical valve seat 10 into a wider vertical bore 11, which attaches itself 
from its end to a shaped vertical bore 12, contained in the base of the 
storage tank 2. A pipe tube 14, which has been equipped with several 
longitudinal slots 13, is fastened on the upper side of the valve block 
and is aligned with the bore 11 and projects through bore 12. A pipe tube 
14 terminates above a level indicator 4 and is mounted with 
inwardly-directed guide pins 15 on the upper end, for a vertically 
standing, height-active controllable valve body 16. 
The valve body 16 is conically tapered on the bottom end and outfitted with 
a conical nipple, which works with the valve seat 10. In this fashion, the 
valve body 16, together with the valve seat 10, makes up the liquid valve 
17 of the filling device 5. If the valve body 16 is lowered, as depicted 
on the left side of the drawing, then no liquid can get out of the 
discharge mouth 9. If the valve body is raised, as is depicted on the 
right side of the drawing, the liquid can flow undiminished to a large 
extent and in a favorable stream through the slot 13 and the circular area 
between the pipe tube 14 and the valve body 16 as well as through the 
bores 12 and 11 and to the dispensing outlet 9 and through this into a 
bottle, which is pressed against the filling device 5 during the 
intermediate switching of the centralizing bell 7. In this process, the 
position of the opening is being defined by means of the contact between 
the lead pins 18, which are fastened on the valve body 16 and which 
loosely center the latter valve body in the bore 11, and a ring-like 
stopper 19 which is formed on the upper end of the bore 11 on the valve 
block 8. 
The valve body 16 has a continuous bore which becomes conically narrower on 
the lower end directly above the liquid valve 17, while forming a wider 
valve seat 20. The valve seat 20 functions together with another vertical, 
height-controllable valve body 21 and forms the tension gas valve 22 of 
the filling device 5. The valve body 21 is basically pipe-like, whereby 
its outside diameter is significantly smaller than the inside diameter of 
the valve body 16, in whose bore it is concentrically arranged. At the 
lower end, the valve body 21 has a widening 23, which carries a conical 
nipple on the underside, and which functions together with the valve seat 
20. 
The widening 23 is supplied with several lead ribs 24 on the pipe casing, 
through which the valve body 21 is guided within the valve body 16 in an 
up- and downward motion. A return-gas pipe 25 connects to valve seat 20 
toward the bottom end, and is detachably fastened in the lower end of the 
valve body 16 and, while forming a circular area for the liquid, projects 
concentrically through the discharge mouth in a freely downward fashion. 
The return gas pipe 25 is provided with a little cap on the lower end for 
the fluid during the filling process, protrudes across from the underside 
of the valve block 8 and, during the filling process, protrudes into the 
head area of one of the bottles 1, which are pressed against the filling 
device 8. On the one hand, it conducts the liquid which emerges from the 
discharge mouth 9 with its little cap, to the inner wall of the bottle 1 
and additionally enables the inflow and outflow respectively, of the 
tension gas out of the storage tank 2 into and out of the bottle 1 
respectively. If the valve body is lowered, as depicted on the left side 
of the drawing, then the passageway for tension gas is closed. If the 
valve body 21 is lifted, as depicted on the right side of the drawing, 
then a connection is created above the bore of the valve body 16 and the 
return gas pipe 25 between the tension gas area of the storage tank 2 
above the level indicator 4 and that of the inner space of a bottle 1. 
The valve body 21, compared to valve body 16, is elongated towards the top 
and is guided out of the storage tank 2 in a flexible manner through a 
lead sleeve 26 fastened in the cover of the storage tank 2. The gas- and 
liquid-proof passageway is blocked off by means of an elastic expansion 
bellows 27, which is fastened through a valve body 21 on the one hand and 
a lead sleeve 26 on the other. A bow 28 is fastened to the end of the 
valve body 21, and the bow projects upward out of the storage tank 2, and 
from its end is fastened to the piston rod of a simply operating pneumatic 
cylinder 29. The latter is bound rigidly with the lead sleeve 26. 
Moreover, a pressure spring 30, which surrounds valve body 21, is inserted 
between the bow 28 and the lead sleeve 26, and the pressure spring 
attempts to move the valve body 21 into its upper opened position. 
The valve body 21 is permeated along its entire length by a rodlike probe 
31, without the formation of a hollow space, whose outer diameter 
corresponds to the inner diameter of the valve body 21. During the interim 
connection of the washers, the probe 31 protrudes freely downward out of 
the widening 23 on the lower end of valve body 21 and while forming a 
circular area, stretches itself concentrically through the return-gas pipe 
25, out of whose opening it protrudes freely. In this way, the probe 31 
protrudes into the neck area, approximately up to the area of the desired 
filling level of one of the bottles 1, which is pressed against the 
filling device 5. The upper end of the probe 31 protrudes out of the valve 
body 21 and is fixed by means of a controllable clamp 32 located across 
from the valve body 21. In this way, the probe 31 participates to the full 
extent in the normal lifting motion of the gas valve's 22 valve body 21, 
which is caused by the pneumatic cylinder 29. 
In addition, a measuring cable 34, which leads to electronic control 
equipment 35, is attached on the upper end of the probe 31 by means of an 
electric plug 33. In the example of the operation, this control equipment 
controls the pneumatic cylinder 29 exclusively and, thereby, also the 
liquid valve 17 and the tension gas valve 22 in combination with the 
pressure springs 36, which are inserted in the guide bolts 15 on the one 
hand and the bent-down upper end of the valve body 16 on the other. 
If the pneumatic cylinder 29 is impinged on with compressed air, then the 
valve body 21 will be pressed directly downwards against the valve seat 
above the bows 28 and against the strength of the pressure springs; as a 
consequence the tension gas valve 22 is closed. At the same time, the 
valve body 16 will also be indirectly pressed over the widening 23 and the 
valve seat 20 against the strength of the pressure springs 36 and downward 
against the valve seat 10. Consequently, the liquid valve 17 is also 
closed. The filling device 5 returns this condition at the end of a 
filling process, or between 2 filling processes respectively. 
If the compressed air cylinder is evacuated of air, then the bow 28 and 
thereby the valve body 21 is pushed into its upper final position by the 
strength of the pressure springs; the tension gas valve 22 is opened as a 
consequence. The liquid valve 17 still remains closed for the time being 
due to the effect of the excess pressure in the storage tank 2. Not until 
the pressure is evened out by the tension gas which is flowing into the 
bottle 1 above the tension gas valve 22 and the return gas pipe 25, will 
the valve body 16 also be lifted by the compressed springs 36; as a 
consequence the liquid valve 17 is opened. The liquid can then flow into 
the bottle 1 over the liquid valve 17 and the outflow opening 9. As soon 
as the level of the liquid reaches the bottom calibration area or the end 
calibration area, respectively of the probe 31, which for example is 
developed as conductivity probe or short-circuit probe, this probe sends a 
signal to the control equipment 35 over the instrument leads 34. This 
releases, either immediately or after an adjustable recovery time, the air 
inflow to the pneumatic cylinder 29, whereby the liquid valve 17 and the 
tension gas valve 22 are closed together. The bottle 1 is filled exactly 
up to the desired level indicator. 
In order to enable a specific discharging of the bottle 1, which is pressed 
against the filling device 5, and after the actual, completed filling 
process in the manner described above, a release canal 37 is formed 
discharging diagonally downwards into the discharge opening 9 in the valve 
block 8. This release canal leads to a mechanically-controllable release 
valve 38, above which it can be joined with a canal 39 and further with a 
developed closed circular pipeline 40, which has been formed on the 
underside of the storage tank 2. Atmospheric pressure prevails in this 
pipeline, so that by means of a cam-controlled, momentary opening of the 
release valve 38, a specific pressure build-up in the bottle 1 can be 
accomplished before the removal from the filling device, especially when a 
choke is placed in the canal 39. During the cleaning of the Container 
Filling Machine, the closed circuit pipeline serves to pass back the 
cleaning liquid, which is delivered through the storage bin 2 in the 
closed cycle. In a similar fashion, further canals and control valves, 
which junction into the discharge mouth 9, can be arranged, for example 
for a vacuum.