Device for coupling containers

A device for coupling two containers comprising connecting branches having essentially circular cross section, with each of the connecting branches having a closing member at one end, which is essentially circular in cross section, for closing the end facing away from the container. When the two connecting branches are brought together, the two closing members are combined into a single member moved by a single actuator so that no clearance is required in each of the branches between the ends of the branch and the member. Each of the branches has annular edge seals, which, in an uncompressed condition, engage a circumferential edge of each of the closing members and are compressed when engaged with the edge seal of the adjacent branch member to release the respective closing member. The edge seals coact to form a butt chamber and one of the branch connections has a circumferential sealing sleeve into which the other of the branch connections is inserted in a sealing fashion when forming a connection between the two branch connections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a device for coupling two containers 
which respectively have connecting branches or necks having an essentially 
circular cross section and with each of the branches or necks comprising a 
closing flap or member having an essentially circular cross section that 
is close to the end facing away from the container that carries it. The 
closing flap or member is pivotable by essentially 90.degree. around an 
axis extending perpendicular to a center axis of the branch and will have 
an outside diameter that essentially corresponds to the inside diameter of 
the connecting branch so that it can be moved with a valve actuator from a 
closed position wherein it resides essentially transverse relative to the 
longitudinal middle axis of the branch into an open position wherein it 
resides essentially parallel to the longitudinal middle branch of the 
particular connecting branch. 
Allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/355,690, whose disclosure is 
incorporated herein by reference thereto and which claims priority from 
German Application 43 42 962, discloses a device of this type, which has 
proven very effective in practice. As disclosed, each of the closing 
members has a semiaxle which is mounted in two bearing shells that lie 
opposite one another and are complimentary with the respective semiaxle 
and open toward an end face of the connecting branch. The end faces are 
aligned in the closed position with the end faces of the other connecting 
branch and are seated therein with the respective semiaxles essentially 
shaped in cross section like a semi-circular sector or cross section, 
whose planar end faces face away from the container that carries the 
respective connecting branch. Only one of these semiaxles can be directly 
engaged by a valve actuator, and after the end faces of the connecting 
branches have been pressed against one another in a centered fashion, both 
closing members will engage each other to form a combined member so that 
the second member is entrained with the first closing member and both 
members are pivoted in the bearings formed by the two bearing shells 
between their closed position and their opened position. 
As disclosed in this application, each of the closing members is 
respectively seated in an essentially circular sealing bead having a cross 
sectional configuration that, in the condition wherein the allocated 
closing member is closed and the other connecting piece is not pressed 
thereagainst, the circular ring-shaped end face of the respective 
connecting branch is covered by the sealing bead so that it tightly bears 
on a periphery of the closing member at the same time as a face sealing 
surface that faces away from the connecting branch and ascends obliquely 
radially outward in a direction toward the other connecting branch to be 
connected. When the two connecting branches are pressed together and seal 
the joint with the sealing end faces, the region of both sealing beads 
approximate to the sealing surface are pressed radially outward and 
release the closing flap or member for pivoting so that the cylindrical 
cross section remains and the gap between the closing member is reliably 
closed. 
As disclosed, a blower means for charging a butt or joint chamber is formed 
together between the closing members being pressed against each other with 
a cleaning gas and/or protective atmosphere and also includes an 
extraction chamber surrounding the butt chamber. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to an object of improving the device or 
apparatus and to effect that the cleaning of the closing flaps or members 
before and/or after the filling event to be accomplished with the 
apparatus is improved by forming or, respectively, opening of a butt 
chamber that begins earlier and ends later, 
This object is inventively achieved by an improvement in a device for 
coupling two containers to transfer the contents therebetween, said device 
including a separate connecting branch having essentially a circular cross 
section for each of the containers, each connecting branch having a 
closing member having an essentially circular cross section being located 
adjacent to an end of the connecting branch and having an outside diameter 
essentially corresponding to the inside diameter of the connecting branch, 
each closing member being rotatable through 90.degree. on an axis 
extending transverse to the central axis of the branch from a closed 
position, wherein the closing member essentially extends transversely 
relative to the longitudinal middle axis of the connecting branch to an 
opened position where it is essentially parallel to the longitudinal 
middle axis of the connecting branch, each of the closing members having a 
semiaxle being seated in two bearing shells lying opposite one another and 
complimentary with respect to the semiaxle that opens toward the end face 
of the respective connecting branch, said end faces being aligned in a 
closed position with the end face of the respective connecting branch and 
being seated therein with the respective semiaxle, which has an 
essentially semicircular cross section, with planar end faces which face 
away from the container carrying the respective connecting branch and are 
essentially aligned with the end faces of the closing member facing away 
from the container, only the first of the two semiaxles being directly 
engaged by a valve actuator and with the end faces of the connecting 
branches being pressed against one another in a centered fashion with the 
closing members being formed into a combined closing member, the second 
closing member not directly driven being entrained to pivot in the 
bearings formed by the bearing shells and being pivotable between the 
closed position and opened position with the first closing member 
connected to the valve actuator, each of the connecting branches being 
terminated in an annular edge seal which are constructed so that when the 
branches are spaced from one another, the seal engages a periphery of the 
closing member and when the two branches are abutted against each other, 
the seals release each of the closing members, the device includes at 
least one of the closing members being provided with blower means for 
charging a chamber formed between the closing flaps as they are being 
pressed against one another for providing a cleaning and/or protective gas 
and the blower means further including extraction means for collecting the 
cleaning and/or protective gas directed into the chamber allocated 
therefor. The improvements include one of the two connecting branches 
having a circumferential sealing sleeve into which the other of the two 
connecting branches is extended in a sealing fashion when the ends of the 
connecting branches are brought into contact to form a connection. 
According to the prior art device, it can also be particularly provided in 
the invention that the closing members are each respectively seated in a 
circular sealing bead which form a component part of the edge seal and 
have a cross sectional configuration at the annular end face of the 
connecting branch so that the end face of the connecting branch is covered 
by the sealing bead which simultaneously engages a periphery of the 
closing member in a tight condition when the member is in the closed 
position and the other connecting branch is not pressed thereagainst. The 
end surface of this sealing bead, when not engaged with the end surface of 
the other connecting branch, faces away from the connecting branch in an 
obliquely radially outward direction toward the other branch. The sealing 
surfaces comprise an outward bevel toward the respective other socket that 
a butt chamber is formed therebetween substantially before the contacting 
and during the decontacting of the two closing members given an approach 
and/or removal of the end faces of the two connecting branches toward and, 
respectively, away from one another. 
As in the prior art device, it can be particularly provided in the 
invention that the blower means and the extraction means are arranged at 
the pipe connection that carries the active closing member. 
The invention is based on the surprising perception that one succeeds in 
achieving a faultless cleaning of the closing members of deposits, 
particularly of the refilled product, in that, given the assistance of the 
claimed sealing sleeve, a reliable sealing of the butt chamber is assured 
both before the contacting of the closing members and the decontacting of 
the closing flaps after a refilling event. For example, deposited 
particles can thereby be returned to the product stream while avoiding any 
and all environmental pollution. 
The seals allocated to the closing members are inventively modified over 
the prior art so that these seals, given a spacing between the closing 
member of preferably less than 15 mm apart, seal the space allocated 
between the closing members, i.e., the butt chamber from the outside 
except for the region of the bearing shells. The centering pin situated in 
the active closing member toward the drive side is preferably fashioned as 
an air nozzle and comprises an air outlet opening that proceeds in the 
direction of the contaminated sealing line between the closing members and 
the seal. As a result thereof, two essentially tangentially proceeding, 
hemi-annular or semi-annular streams are generated that meet at the side 
lying diametrically opposite the drive or valve actuator, namely at the 
location that is no longer covered by the edge seal. An extraction nozzle 
that captures the arriving, contaminated blast air and supplies it to the 
central extraction is preferably located at this position. 
Other advantages and features of the invention will be readily apparent 
from the following description of the preferred embodiments, the drawings 
and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The principles of the present invention are particular useful when 
incorporated in an apparatus or device for coupling a container 10 to a 
container 12 to allow transfer of product therebetween. The container 10 
is a stationary container, whereas the container 12, as illustrated, is a 
transport container that can be moved under the stationary container 10 
from a side in the direction of double-arrow 14. 
At a lower end, the container 10 has a branch connection or pipe socket 16 
that is in communication relative to the internal volume of the container 
10 by a valve means 18 that can be opened and closed with a valve actuator 
20. The branch connection 16 is adjustable in height with regard to a 
support structure by pneumatic cylinders 22 and 24. A first closing flap 
or member 26 is located at what is the lower end of the branch connection 
16 in FIG. 1, and this closing member 26, as shall be explained later, can 
be moved by an actuator drive 28 from a closed position that closes the 
end opening of the branch connection 16 at the bottom of FIG. 1 into an 
opened position upon a 90.degree. rotation around a rotational axis that 
lies in a transverse direction to the axis of the branch connection or 
socket 16. 
Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a centering pin 30, which is connected to a 
plate attached to the branch connection 16. As explained hereinafter, this 
centering pin 30 coacts with a centering socket or bore 36, which is 
arranged with a branch connection 32 for the container 12. 
On its upper side or end, the container 12 moves under the container 10 by 
a lateral displacement in the direction of the double-arrow 14 of FIG. 1. 
The container 12 has a second connecting branch or socket 32 complementary 
to the first branch connection 16, which carries a second closing member 
34 on its end face facing toward the container 10. The second closing 
member 34, as shall be explained below, is capable of being brought from a 
closed position into an open position by a 90.degree. rotation on an axle 
in way similar to the first closing member 26. The centering bore or 
socket 36 on the container 12 is intended to interreact with the centering 
pin 30 of the first connecting branch 16. Fine-centering mechanisms in the 
form of at least one additional centering pin and at least one further 
centering bore or socket interacting therewith are provided on each of the 
closing members, and these enable an exact mutual centering of the first 
closing member 26 and the second closing member 34 after the rough 
centering as a result of the interaction of the centering pin 30 with the 
centering bore 36. 
FIG. 3 shows the closing member 34 of the second connecting branch 32 being 
sealed on its circumferential edge by a sealing bead 52 when the branch 32 
is not engaged with a first branch 16. The sealing bead 52, which is two 
substantially semi-circular members extending between the bearing 
half-shells, comprises an obliquely radially outwardly ascending, annular 
end sealing surface 54. In a similar way, the connecting branch 16 has an 
annular sealing bead 58 having an annular end sealing surface 56 and, when 
not engaged with a sealing bead of another branch, this engages the 
circumferential or peripheral edge of the closing flap or member 26. 
When, as shown in FIG. 2, the first branch connection 16 is brought against 
the second branch connection 32, then the end sealing surface 54 of the 
sealing bead 52 comes into contact with the end sealing surface 56 of the 
sealing bead 58 at an outer circumferential edge due to the oblique 
positioning of the end sealing surfaces 54 and 56. Accordingly, a butt 
chamber 59 is sealed in a condition wherein the closing members 26 and 34 
do not yet lie against one another so that an appropriate cleaning of the 
butt chamber 59 with a blower means, which is yet to be described, can 
occur in this condition, i.e., when the branch connections 16 and 32 
approach one another or when, correspondingly, they are being moved apart 
during an uncoupling after a transfer or filling event has occurred. 
In order to provide a flow of air, which is either a protective gas or a 
cleaning gas, a blower means is provided and has two air outlets in a 
centering pin, such as 30, so that openings 60 and 62 create two 
tangential hemi-annularly proceeding air streams 64 and 66 adjacent the 
surface of the closing member 26. These proceed to an extraction nozzle 68 
lying opposite the centering pin 30, which is connected to a central 
extraction 70 for removal. 
According to the present invention, a circumferential sealing sleeve 72, 
which is formed by two half-cylinders and are attached to a branch 
connection 32, is provided in the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in 
FIG. 5. This provides a sealing immersion of the connecting branch 16 in a 
function condition in which the closing members 26 and 34 have not yet 
come together or during a decoupling do not lie against one another. Thus, 
the butt chamber 59, which is formed between the sealing beads 52 and 58 
when they are not compressed, is sealed with the sealing sleeve 72 without 
there being any need for a collaboration of the sealing beads 52 and 58 
for sealing the butt chamber 59 during the blowing and extraction event. 
The ends of the two half-cylinders are spaced apart to allow the semiaxles 
and half-shell bearings to pass during coupling and uncoupling. 
As in the allowed U.S. application Ser. No. 08/355,690, which issued as 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,266, when the two connecting branches are brought 
together, the sealing members 36 and 34 have planar surfaces that contact 
each other and their semiaxes coact with each other to form a circular 
axle between the bearing shells of each sealing branch so that the 
actuator 28, by rotating the closing member 26, entrains the closing 
member 34 to move therewith. 
Although various minor modifications may be suggested by those versed in 
the art, it should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope 
of the patent granted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and 
properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.