FILLING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR LIQUID OR PASTY PRODUCTS HAVING CHUNKY PORTIONS AND FOR FREE-FLOWING OR CHUNKY BULK PRODUCTS

DISPOSITIF ET PROCEDE SERVANT A SOUTIRER DES PRODUITS LIQUIDES OU PATEUX OU DES PRODUITS CONTENANT DES MORCEAUX, SUSCEPTIBLES DE RUISSELLEMENT OU D'EFFRITEMENT

English Abstract

The invention relates to a filling device and method for liquid or pasty
products having chunky portions and for free-flowing or chunky bulk products.
Said device comprises a storage container, means for opening or closing the
outlet of the storage container and a downpipe disposed below the storage
container. Said downpipe (1) has at least one flexible lateral wall (2). The
device is also provided with means for mechanically pushing in the at least
one lateral wall (2) of the downpipe (1). The aim of the invention is to
reliably prevent the products from jamming the downpipe (1) and to increase
filling accuracy. For this purpose, the means for mechanically pushing in the
lateral wall (2) of the downpipe (1) is provided with rotatable elements (4)
for deforming the cross-section of the downpipe. The lateral wall (2) of the
downpipe (1) is temporarily deformed inward by the means for mechanically
pushing in the wall according to a defined pattern.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif et un procédé servant à soutirer des produits liquides ou pâteux ou des produits contenant des morceaux, susceptibles de ruissellement ou d'effritement, ainsi qu'un réservoir d'accumulation, des moyens servant à ouvrir et à fermer ce réservoir et un conduit de soutirage situé sous ce réservoir. Ce conduit de soutirage (1) présente au moins une paroi latérale flexible (2) et des moyens de pression mécanique peuvent exercer une pression sur ladite paroi latérale (2) du conduit de soutirage (1). Dans le but d'exclure tout produit résiduel dans le conduit de soutirage (1) et d'augmenter la précision de remplissage, les moyens de pression mécanique de la paroi latérale (2) présentent des éléments rotatifs (4) servant à déformer la section transversale dudit conduit. Ceci permet de déformer temporairement vers l'intérieur la paroi latérale (2) du conduit de soutirage (1).

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. A device for filling liquid or pasty products having
lumpy fractions and free flowing, pourable lumpy
products, comprising a storage container, means for
opening or closing the outlet of the storage
container and a gravity tube (1) arranged underneath
the storage container, wherein the gravity tube (1)
has at least one flexible side wall (2) and that
means for mechanically pressing-in the at least one
side wall (2) of the gravity tube (1) are provided,
characterised in that the means for mechanically
pressing-in the side wall (2) of the gravity tube
(1) have rotatable elements (4) for deforming the
cross-section of the gravity tube and that the
elements (4) are driven rotatably about an axis of
rotation (3) running substantially parallel to the
gravity tube (1).
2. The device according to claim 1,
characterised in that the gravity tube (1) has a
polygonal cross-section, that each flexible side
wall (2) is constructed as deformable and that
separate means for mechanical pressing-in are
provided for each side wall (2).

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3. The device according to claim 1,
characterised in that the gravity tube has a
substantially round cross-section and that the
elements for mechanically pressing in the side wall
of the gravity tube are distributed uniformly over
the circumference of the gravity tube.
4. The device according to claim 3,
characterised in that the elements for mechanically
pressing in the side wall of the gravity tube are
arranged rotatably about the axis of the gravity
tube.
5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that the elements for mechanically
pressing in the side wall (2) of the gravity tube
(1) are arranged so that they can be displaced in
the axial direction.
6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
characterised in that the elements are constructed
as rollers (4).
7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
characterised in that the elements are constructed
as cams.
8. A method for filling liquid or pasty products having
lumpy fractions and free flowing, pourable lumpy
products by means of the device according to any one
of claims 1 to 13,

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characterised in that the means for mechanically
pressing in the side wall of the gravity tube
intermittently deform the flexible side wall of the
gravity tube inwards according to a specified
scheme.
9. The method according to claim 8,
characterised in that the deformation of the side
wall of the gravity tube takes place simultaneously.
10. The method according to claim 8,
characterised in that the deformation of the side
wall of the gravity tube takes place staggered in
time.
11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
characterised in that the means for pressing in the
side wall of the gravity tube act uniformly over the
entire circumference on the side wall of the gravity
tube.

Description

CA 02519217 2005-09-14
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12. September 2005
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FILLING LIQUID OR PASTY PRODUCTS
HAVING LUMPY FRACTIONS AND FREE FLOWING, POURABLE LUMPY
PRODUCTS
The invention relates to a device and a method for
filling liquid or pasty products having lumpy fractions
and free flowing, pourable lumpy products comprising a
storage container, means for opening or closing the
outlet of the storage container and a gravity tube
arranged underneath the storage container, wherein the
gravity tube has at least one flexible side wall and that
means for mechanically pressing-in the at least one side
wall of the gravity tube are provided.
Devices for filling lumpy portions together with liquid
or pasty or free flowing or pourable products are
available on the market in various designs and have been
known for some time. Said devices are used to fill the
product from a storage container having a closable outlet
through a so-called gravity tube either directly into a
packaging container located directly thereunder and to be
closed subsequently or into a metering tube so that the
packaging containers can be filled uniformly either on a
volumetric or on a gravimetric basis.
A bunker for powder or granular material is known from
DE-AS 10 97 904 which describes a device and a method for
emptying pourable and free flowing products wherein a
flexible gravity tube at the lower end of the container
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can be moved towards one another or moved away from one
another by means of suitable elements so that the
flexible gravity tube can be completely closed.
A similar device is known from DE 32 06 003 A1 where the
lower region of a transport or storage container is
flexibly configured, by providing belts there. These
belts are tightened more or less by means of suitably
articulated rollers to change the cross-section of the
throughput.
In both the aforesaid known devices however, it is only
possible for two parallel sides of the gravity tube to
move.
When a "gravity tube" is merely mentioned in the
following, this should include any design of hollow
transport pipes. In particular, the invention should thus
also relate to gravity hoses consisting entirely of a
flexible material.
Whereas the filling of liquid products generally involves
no problems, during the filling of pasty products,
especially if these have lumpy fractions, blockages occur
again and again in the area of the gravity tube since the
product sticks or wedges in the area of the gravity tube,
that is the position having the smallest cross-section
during the filling process. This "bridge formation"
results in problems during the filling: the result is
inadequately filled packages (rejects), machine down-time
and therefore increased maintenance expenditure.
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The object of the invention is thus to configure and
further develop the device and the corresponding method
for filling specified initially and described previously
in detail so that any product blockage in the gravity
tube is reliably eliminated. It is further desired that
the filling accuracy is increased. Damage to the lumpy
fractions of the product should also be reliably
excluded.
The object is solved in a generic device by the fact that
the means for mechanically pressing in the side wall of
the gravity tube have rotatable elements for deforming
the cross-section of the gravity tube and that the
elements are driven rotatably about an axis of rotation
running substantially parallel to the gravity tube.
In terms of method the object is solved by the fact that
the means for mechanically pressing in the side wall of
the gravity tube intermittently deforms the flexible side
wall of the gravity tube inwards according to a specified
scheme.
The invention has recognised that the disadvantages of
the known filling devices described further above can be
reliably avoided by using a gravity tube having a
flexible side wall in conjunction with means for
mechanically deforming this side wall. In this case, the
cross-sectional shape of the gravity tube initially plays
no role. A further teaching of the invention provides
that the gravity tube has a polygonal cross-section, for
example, a square cross-section, that each flexible side
wall is constructed as deformable and that separate
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elements for mechanical pressing-in are provided for each
side wall. In this way, all the side walls of the gravity
tube are pressed in mechanically, optionally according to
a special sequence scheme to be explained further below,
so as to reliably exclude any bridge formation of the
product in the interior of the gravity tube or gravity
hose.
A further teaching of the invention provides that the
gravity tube has a substantially round cross-section and
that the elements for mechanically pressing in the side
wall of the gravity tube are arranged distributed
uniformly around the circumference of the gravity tube.
In a further embodiment of the invention, in such round-
cross-section gravity tubes the elements for mechanically
pressing in the side wall of the gravity tube can be
arranged rotatably about the axis of the gravity tube.
This design offers design advantages compared with a
plurality of pressing-in elements arranged around the
gravity tube.
In a further development of the invention, the elements
for mechanically pressing in the side wall of the gravity
tube can be arranged displaceably in the axial direction.
The various movements on the flexible side wall of the
gravity tube can also be superimposed to achieve
particularly favourable effects.
According to a further preferred teaching of the
invention, the rotatable elements for mechanically
pressing in the side wall of the gravity tube are
constructed as rollers or as cams for deforming the
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cross-section of the gravity tube. In this case, it is
especially appropriate if the rollers or cams are
rotatably driven and the axis of rotation runs
substantially parallel to the gravity tube. By attaching
a plurality of "camshafts" arranged parallel to the
gravity tube around the gravity tube, each having a
plurality of cams arranged rotatably above one another,
numerous deformation patterns can be achieved.
As has already been mentioned, the solution of the
invention in terms of method provides that the
intermittent deformation of the gravity tube takes place
according to a specified scheme. In this case, the
deformation of the side wall of the gravity tube can take
place simultaneously or staggered in time, in which case
the means for mechanically pressing in the side wall of
the gravity tube can act uniformly on the side wall of
the gravity tube over the entire circumference. In the
design solution using rollers described further above,
for example, it is possible to arrange a plurality of
rollers, each arranged one above the other, around the
gravity tube wherein the individual rollers in the
various planes act above one another on the gravity tube
such that any deformation of the gravity tube takes place
in the sense of peristaltic motion.
The invention is explained in detail subsequently with
reference to drawings which merely show preferred
exemplary embodiments. In the figures:
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Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a first exemplary
embodiment of the device according to the
invention,
Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the device according to
the invention from Fig. 1 and
Fig. 3 shows a vertical section of the device
according to the invention according to Figs. 1
and 2.
Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a gravity tube 1
which has at least one flexible side wall 2. In addition
to the gravity tube 1 having a product P comprising lumpy
fractions, a plurality of rollers 4 arranged rotatably
about an axis of rotation 3 running parallel to the
gravity tube 1 are also provided. As can be seen from
Fig. 2, in the exemplary embodiment shown and insofar
preferred, four rollers 4 are arranged about a drive
shaft 5 wherein supports 6 arranged in a cross provide
for mounting of the rotatable rollers 4 and their spacing
from the drive shaft 5. For clarity only four rollers
arranged in one plane are shown in Fig. 1. A plurality of
individual supports 6 with rollers 4 arranged rotatably
thereon are arranged one above the other, as can be seen
from Fig. 3, so that the gravity tube 1 can now be
deformed as far as possible over its entire height. In
this case, the drive shaft 5 is mounted in two bearings
7a and 7b, which are connected to a housing, not shown,
by means of supporting arms 8a and 8b. In the exemplary
embodiment the drive shaft is driven by means of a cogged
belt 9 which is merely indicated.
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It can quickly be seen that if the rollers 4 of the
individual planes of the device shown in Fig. 3 are
arranged radially offset, various deformations of the
side wall 2 of the gravity tube 1 can be achieved. For
example, the rollers 4 arranged at the top first come in
contact with the side wall of the gravity tube not shown
in Fig. 3 and then those arranged thereunder in each
case. This results in a type of milling movement in the
direction of transport and is especially gentle for the
product to be transported.
Instead of the rollers 4, it is also feasible to use
cams, although this is not shown, which bring about the
desired deformation of the flexible gravity tube 1 from
outside simultaneously or staggered in time or place.
It is clear that a plurality of the arrangements
according to the invention can be arranged around the
gravity tube 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown and
insofar preferred, the gravity tube 1 has a rectangular
cross-section so that corresponding rollers 4 can act on
all four side surfaces 2. Here also, a "deformation
scheme" of the gravity tube 1 matched to the special
product can be achieved by the matched sequence of impact
of the individual rollers 4 relative to the different
planes and the different side walls 2.
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Representative Drawing