Patent ID: 6837282

Claim:
An apparatus for filing containers with liquid products having different viscosities, said apparatus comprising: a. a loading platform for supporting a plurality of containers, b. a plurality of container fill heads, said fill heads including a housing having an inlet for receiving the liquid product and a plenum for receiving therein a valve stem, said valve stem having a plurality of longitudinally disposed, circumferentially spaced apart grooves formed in an outer cylindrical wall surface thereof, said grooves terminating at a lower end thereof in a cylindrical boss, said valve stem being adapted for reciprocating movement between an upward position forming a seal between said valve stem and said housing and a downward position releasing said seal to thereby form an opening from which the liquid product flows under pressure through said grooves and said opening into a respective container, c. a filling platform for supporting the plurality of containers beneath said fill heads, d. product transport means for transporting the liquid product to said fill heads, e. fill head container sealing means for temporarily forming a liquid pressure-tight seal between each of said fill heads and an interior space of a respective container, f. fill head actuator means for causing the liquid product supplied to said fill heads to flow into and fill the interior space of a respective container, g. fill head exhaust means for exhausting excess liquid product and air from a respective container, said fill head exhaust means including a vacuum bore having a lower portion disposed longitudinally and coaxially through said valve stem from a lower end face of said valve stem, and an upper portion disposed radially outwardly from an upper end of said lower portion through a radially disposed neck penetrated by said upper portion of said vacuum bore, and h. container loading translation means for moving the containers from said loading platform to said container support platform into vertical alignment beneath a respective fill head.